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...THE 



ANNALS OF CLEVELAND, 



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A Review 

Of the First Year of 

Our Second Century. 



••*=EoiTED Br Eugene Zerno.=*~ 



PRICE, 25 CENTS' 



— PUBLISHED BY — 

THE ANNALS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

ROOM NO. 54, CASE BUILDING, 
CLEVELAND, OHIO. 



PRESS OF THOMAS & MATTILL, 265-265 WOODLAND AVE., CLEVELAND. 



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Our CV^ebTAtioB 



Tie Ci"v CoL-_--, 
TIfce SpriTi^ Klec: - 

X XI < 

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PaM f'i nd I ^resent. 

hofik WdiM with nut a hundrt^A ytcur^ a^o, 

Of t/yiljng th/yi; r/Lartfe of traide 

By ban4 of man a p^aerlefe* beauty nia4/e. 

'Tw«» thien a wil4 -expanse unturnie4 the «^, 

It« \'\r%\n fe^/il al/yne l^/y re4 men trod; 

Yet heritage from O'^yd ty> man \itt\fm 

Where he i>houhl buiM, *hryuM t/yil, and reap and tjow, 

A va«t estate that would by proper care 

And nature* help beoc/me in beauty feir, 

A tempting pla/jt where man in eaf>e should rest, 

Arid from his Ua\ and enterpri{>e be blest. 

It* tyeauteous lake, its lovely wo^yds and streams. 
Us rolling lands, its shady, deep ravines, 
Combined t/> makfz in natuf way 

A ^rdt^n bjxyt where man sK . g to stay. 

Where he should build and exercise his brain, 
And add by knowledge t/y this great domain. 
In all the workings of his living day. 
Where he should live in peace, and toil and pray. 

And build by works of good an honored name, 
Till all around should know and read the fame 
Of this fair city by l/ake Erie's shore 
S^v strong in beauty and of go^ydly store. 

And now behold the record of the past, 
Survey full well the scene s^y great and vast ; 
Heboid the city which now proudly stands 
A welcome greeting with her open hands. 

To all of just repute to cease to roam 
And here in Greater Cleveland make their home, 
Where nature smiles, and art and science show 
How much of good a hundred years can grow. 

7/ie Scrih/i for Wliilf Yn/alun f^,iini. 



TEL.EPHONE 1V39. 



ADOLPH R. NUNN, 

UNDERTAKER 
AND EMBALMER. 



CARRIAGES FURNISHED FOR ALL PURPOSES. EVERYTHING NEW. 
1097-1099 LORAIN STREET, CLEVELAND, O. 

MRCHITECTS. 



C. F. CRAMER, Associate. 



F^oom 3o. 89 Euclid flvenue. 

Telephone 2650. Home Telephone 545. 



THE ANNALS 



OF 



CI^E^V^E 



13 



1896 1897. 



A REVIEW OF THE FIRST YEAR 



OF 



OUR SECOND CENTURY. 



EDITED^ BY 

EUGENE ZERNO. 



SECOND COPY, 



57935 

I^HINGS present themselves to iis in the way in which we are 
accustomed to look at them. As mental visions differ, the same 
thing never appears the same to two of us. Bear, therefore, with 
an honest man's opinion, whatever it ma}' be. Such should be 
tolerance in the present, as it will be in future times. 

The Editor. 



Copyrighted, 1897. 



^i^^m^^ 




Looking Backward. 



NASCITUR. 



It was some time subsequent to the discovery by man that 
the Creator had caused the earth to exist for the benefit of hu- 
manity, that Columbus discovered America — and Moses Cleave- 
land the spot at the swamp-hidden mouth of the Cuyahoga River, 
where, in 1796, he purposed founding a city. The record of the 
event first named above is of some consequence, inasmuch as 
the editors of our urban newspapers seem to observe the order 
of things as in a mirror, the city of Cleveland first, the rest of 
the universe later in date. 

I propose writing the true history of our beautiful town. 

In the light of the present, it is remarkable that the land 
upon which Cleveland stands to day was owned, a century back, 
by a company or corporation of real estate men ; a class which 
would be referred toby many citizens as that of "land-sharks," 
for whom Moses Cleaveland acted as agent. I have often won- 
dered that this fact has never occurred to our Franklin Club, and 



that its members have never filled him with 
dynamite as he stands alone and unprotected 
upon the Public Square. Nothing easier, for 
this bronze man is a hollow man. 

The real, but now defunct Moses Cleave- 
land, was undoubtedly a man of courage and 
enterprise — note his long, energetic nose, and 
well-rounded, protiuding chin. As the gen- 
eral agent of the Connecticut Land Company, 
which bought millions of acres as would an 
up-to-date syndicate, he must also have been a 
shrewd man. Moses surveyed the land and 
left the rest for the people who came after him. It was a rude 
task — this doing "the rest." Tiue, the Indians of the neighbor- 
hood were of a peaceful disposition — from an Indian point of view. 
After Mr. Cleaveland's departure, three white men remained 
behind him, whose names are the first and last of the list we give 
later on. A few small houses, not as strong as the Centennial 





block house standing until recently upon the Square, were erected 
near the mouth of the river, the waters of which were then less 
noisome than nowadays. It must be true that the advance of 
civilization pollutes Nature's courses. We seem to be an un- 
clean set. 

The advent of another pioneer, in the person of Ed. Paine 
of Painejrville, niaiks the first epoch in our history. He of 



Painesville was a trader by trade. He dealt exclusively with the 
Indians and made their furs fly while his whisky kept their legs 
dancing. 

A few more people arrived "in town." We began to increase 
by inches, one of our early fathers becoming the husband of 
Chloe Inches, a servant girl employed by Lorenzo Carter. But 
let not your hearts be troubled, for even though one of our fore- 
mothers was a servant girl, yet was one of our forefathers a 




gentleman able to employ one. I mention this fact as one of 
equal consolation to rich and poor, both of which classes may 
partake of our })ride in our Cleveland ancestry. 

At the end of the last century there were, besides the Car- 
ters, the Doan, Edmonds and Hawley families in Cleveland. The 
rest of the people — stragglers, chiefly — lived in the immediate 
neighborhood, in Newburg and Kinsman. Having Newburg 
already at hand, the next thing in order was to lay out a grave- 
yard. People began to die before they were well rested in this 



neighborhood. The saloon could not have been at a great dis- 
tance. 

Cleveland became part of a town — at least, a county seat, in 
1810. The first memorable occurrence in our history was the 
session of a court, a fact which chimes with the civilization of 
our century. Two years later a court house was built and a 
murderous Indian was hung. The place of execution was our 
beautiful Public Square, since then desecrated once more by the 
slaughter of the Artistic Sense upon the same spot. 




In the month of June, 181 2, the clarions of war caused no 
little consternation among our brave townsmen. They hurried 
from their homes — not to meet the enemy, but to seek salvation 
in flight. A few, however, true patriots, organized an armed 
force, 56 strong, to defend their country. The English forces 
dared not come near us for two months following. In that time 
General Perkins and Elisha Dibble arrived with their troops, 
engaging in bloody warfare the few hostile Indians and Redcoats 
who dared bear arms against American independence. Neither 



side gained much through the miHtary tactics of the enemy. An 
arsenal was built, giving the town the distinction of becoming a 
military post. 

The victory of Oliver Hazard Perry belongs to the history of 
the nation, and I refrain from narrating the events of September 
13, 1813, on Lake 
Erie. But here 
is a bumper to 
you Oliver — one 
of the big bum- 
pers you emp- 
tied with a rel- 
ish. May you 
acknowledge it 
gracefully, for we 
have treated you 
shabbily in these 
days of degen- 
eracy ! Albeit, it 
is not our fault 
that the sons of 
the Rebellion have relegated to the lower shelf the sons of the 

Revolution. 

OUR BOYHOOD. 

The restoration of peace found us with a population of a hun- 
dred souls. We had now waxed sufficiently strong to withstand 
our first dose of politics and a bank. The latter was founded by 
Leonard Case, a man of sterling quality. Political activity was 
instituted by the first men who found it profitable to meddle 
with their neighbors' affairs. In the year 1817 a church was 
erected at the corner of St. Clair and Seneca streets. We 
were in possession of nearly everything a community is more 
or less in need of: A tavern, school house, prison, gallows, 
government with its tax-gatherers, graveyard and church. I 




mention the church last, because its functions are to guide us to 
heaven after our earthly careers are ended, to open the gates with 
a brotherly "bon voyage." 

A railroad, whose reckless employes alarmed our city fathers 
by running trains through the city at the frightful rate of twelve 
miles an hour, survived from the many attempts at railroading 

(which developed general- 
ly only "two streaks of 
rust and a mortgage") and 
it became possible to make 
the trip through the State 
in less than a week. We 
were thus connected with 
our rival city, Cincinnati, 
and became a lake port of 
some consequence. Even 
the penurious Congress 
awoke to this fact at 
length, and an appropria- 
tion of $5,000 for improve- 
ment of our harbor fol- 
lowed. The old river bed 
was abandoned and a new 
' one made. Piers and docks 
- were built. 

How busy our fathers 
were. Quite as busy as 
~ "- '~ we are nowadays, un- 

doing their work, remodeling, enlarging, digging, building — 
talking. 

In 1834 was built another church, which was four years later 
consumed by fire; perhaps a deserved fate. In its place the Old 
Stone church, still standing, was built. It really appears that 
churches were as much needed then as now. 




The people of Cleveland fell a prey to the fever of specula- 
tion. A business and building "boom" was inaugurated in Ohio 
City (now the West side) by the Buffalo I^and Company (land 
cormorants, in later phrase) and for a time everything bloomed 
and boomed. People generally believed that they were becoming 
rich, until the inevitable reaction set in. It was then discovered 
that if we had advanced one step it 
was only to be hurled back two and 
three. We, the people, were pros- 
trated for a time, which might have 
been used to better advantage. 

A quarrel prevented a hopeless 
collapse. The people of Ohio City 
were envious of their neighbors of 
Cleveland, which surpassed the 
trans-Cuyahoga town in many ways. 
They were a proud people, and were 
wont to look upon Cleveland as a 
younger sister of theirs, their char- 
ter having been issued March 3, 
1836, while Cleveland's articles of 
incorporation were dated March 5, 
1836. Real estate men, ever active, 
helped matters along. Two of them 
built a bridge over the river to 
facilitate traffic between the two cit- 
ies. The good people of Ohio City 
mistook the peaceable structure for 
a menace and knocked its timbers 
from under it. A lawsuit followed, our friends came to their 
senses and an era of prosperity followed. According to optimistic 
philosophers we are still "in it," thanks to the L,ord. 

In the van of this era was a city election which gave us a 
mayor, a few other officials, a half dozen councilmen and three 




justices of the peace. Later on another school house and two 
additional public buildings were erected. Then followed a rail- 
road (in 1 851) to Columbus. In 1854 Ohio City surrendered and 
became our West Side, adding 4,000 inhabitants to the 20,000 
souls of the rapidly growing town. Waterworks, a street rail- 
road and a market house were the next improvements. 

In i860 the city contained 43,836 inhabitants, including 
many patriotic citizens who took up arms and faced the sea of 




trouble which in the following 5'ear flooded the entire country. 
There were others — others who preferred to evince their patriot- 
ism by sending substitutes to the fields of battle. They, too^ 
were loj'al citizens, for they opened their purses (never mind 
that the generosity was compulsory to a degree), a heart-rending 
ta.sk to many good people. The monument upon the Square 
pays a loving tribute to tho.se who risked or lost their lives in 
that long, brotherly season of bloodshed — -the pension bureau 
does the rest. 



1 1 



In the years following the close of the war our city grew 
with the rapidity and effulgence of a mushroom, in all directions ; 
it became an industrial center, a real lake port, a home for the 
wealthy who created Euclid avenue with all its splendor, and 
were wise enough to preserve the grand old trees, nature's gift. 

Have you never, on a rainy day, when the atmosphere was 
laden with the outpour from thousands of chimneys, gazed south- 
ward from the Superior street viaduct ? Should you fail to appre- 
ciate the beauty of the landscape then, I opine that you lack the 
soul of an artist. It is the picture of a dream such as dreams 
the devil —who is, with all his faults, a painter of merit. Go, 
look and ponder. 






-ui — 7 








-_s.r^. 



The society for Atmospheric Purity can not be sensitive to 
the picturesque, though it counts among its members a Professor 
Olney and a "Cooney" Mizer. 

We are a practical people. The history of our Public Square 
will demonstrate it. A court house and a jail graced this green 
spot in bygone years. Then came a revulsion of sentiment, and 
iiowers grew and Perry's pretty monument arose upon it like an 
enchantment— only to vanish, like other sweet visions— for it 
was seen to have been all a mistake. In the light of newly 
<iawned intelligence a City Hall might be seen upon the Square- 
in the newspapers and in various prints. But, thanks to busy 
politicians, and for political reasons, it exists as yet on paper only, 
although we know not what the future may bring forth. Yet 
there remains a huge granite block, laden with prosaic emblems, 
a monument to bad taste, incapability and architectural mon- 
strosities, rather than to the praiseworthiness, lofty character and 



12 

patriotism of those who prompted the erection of the Soldiers* 

monument. 

ADOLESCENCE. 

To-day the cit}' of Cleveland is, taken all in all, certainly a 
charming abode for nearly all of us. Here are beautiful streets,. 
other than famed Euclid avenue — miles of them. Poor streets 
there are, and poor houses on them for miles, but a good, indus- 
trious wife, a dear and pretty daughter (our daughters are all 
pretty, whether the fact is known outside the family circle or not 
does not matter) know well how to make our homes bright in 
spite of poverty — they are jewels in themselves. God bless them. 

Some of us are living in hovels, starving, suffering from 
want, not always brought on by ourselves. Woe to us, if the Crea- 




tor, looking down upon the wretched hut and the proud church 
of stone, peopled by happy, well-fed worshippei's, draws compari- 
sons. Christianity ! Christianity ! 

There is a brighter side. In recent years the city has acquired 
a S3\stem of parks of great natural beauty. Wade and Gordon 
parks, the largest of these, were given to us by their public- 
spirited owners. Mr. John D. Rockefeller thought of us, as did 
other generous minded men of smaller fortune. Parks and park- 
ways have been bought by the Board of Park Commissioners — 
the "elephant of the city" it is called. I want to be the especial 
champion of our parks, not of the Park Commissioner.s — they 
may look out for themselves. But, let us have parks by all 



13 

means. A green spot in the midst of a sea of houses has all the 
refreshing effect of an island rising smilingly from a desert of 
waves— ugly, merciless waves, ever ready and eager to swallow 
those who, even as we, are sailors upon the ocean of life. As in 
the island haven, so in the green of the parks, a season of rest, 
however brief, cannot fail to restore strength and courage to 
re-embark and sail on and on until at last is reached the haven 
from which none ever emerge. 




"Parks cost money," cry watchful citizens. True, but if 
such fail to see any returns for their money in the form of cabbage 
heads, let others, who consider themselves well paid by the 
iDeauty, the balmy air and the shade of the parks, enjoy them. 
Enjoy them — that is if they can overlook their one inconven- 
ience, the park policemen. 

Our fair city need fear comparison with no municipality of 
the land whose population is above or under 350,000 souls. It 



is a beautiful place of residence for those of sound lungs. Its 
summer evenings are cooled by the lake breezes, expelling the 
heated day like a Diana, swift, strong limbed and pleasant ta 
behold. The breeze, drawn to the bosom of the lake by the 
cooling of the land, is soft, like the caress of a child; balm}', like 
her breath. 

In winter — then the same breeze blows over the ice fields 
with the fur}- of a mad harbinger, belated in his announcement 
of the approach of the beautiful Mrs. Holly. His horn winds 
cheerily from the shivering distance as we listen in the security 
of a bright fireside. 

May our city flourish in her second century ! Long may the 
present generation endure ! 

Even our cemeteries are beautiful, but who would not choose 
rather to promenade than to rest within them forever and forever? 









Our Celebration. 



"O, woe! O, woful, woful, woful dayl 

Most lamentable day; most woful day; 

That ever, ever, I did you behold I 

O, day. O, day. O, day. (), hateful day I 

Never was seen so black a day as this! 

O, woful day! O, woful day!" — Shakespeare. 

He could not have meant our director-general of Centennial 
fame, for Mr. W. M. Day is an amiable, white gentleman, still 
among the living, while he, the utterer of the above-quoted 
lamentation, has been at rest with his fathers for some centuries. 
Our quotation, however, was cited by a discontented citizen 
during the great pyrotechnic finale of our celebration which, to 
use another quotation, "went to the devil ere its time." 



i6 



I am constrained to take Mr. Day under my wings, even 
though they he hat-wings. I'nder his direction the Centennial 

events "went off " Hke the 
corks of champaign bottles 
at the great banquets. It 
was rather saucy of the 
clouds to weep during the 
first week of our festivities 
— there was no earthly rea- 
son for pitying us. True, 
the celebration opened with 
a religious assembly, in 
which a young rabbi dis- 
tanced priest and preacher 
— but was he not one of 
the chosen people? Why, 
then, these torrents of heav- 
enly tears which flooded 
our festive burg that very 
w. yi. DAY. hour ? 




CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 

The citizens' mass meeting, an opening feature of the Cen- 
tennial celebration, was remarkable for its scope as well as for 
the personnel ot the orators. 

Protestant, Catholic and Jew enjoyed a common opportu- 
nity to expound before the same audience their respective teach- 
ings. Over all was peace, harmony and good-will. 

Rev. Levi Gilbert, D. D., a learned man, extolled the virtues 
of the Puritans, whom he described as stern, but worthy and 
energetic men. "It is due to their efforts that we are living to day 
in a Christian country," he said, nay, he thundered it. The rev- 
erend gentleman was right. The Japanese or Chinese might have 
discovered America on her Pacific side, had not Columbus found 



17 

the Atlantic side in time, and had not the Englij^h government 
taken possession — also in good time. The doctor claimed that the 
growth of the city of Cleveland had been more wonderful than 
the poems of Horace, Dante or Milton. He maintained further 
that we are honest business people, good fathers and mothers, and 
that as descendants of Puritans we honored our institutions and 
respected the laws of the land. True, Cleveland had given great 
lawyers to the land— be it said to her credit. The Puritans built 
churches, and they built schools as well ; a feat possible under 
Christian influences alone. Under the old Roman empire the 
grand conquest of ignorance would have been impossible. 

Rev. Dr. Gilbert regretfully acknowledged that the Cleveland 
pioneers built a distillery before the idea of erecting a church oc- 
curred to them. Now, however, thanks to the humane spirit of 
Protestants, we have churches, hospitals and benevolent institu- 
tions of all sorts. 

Monsignor T. P. Thorpe told the vast audience of the first 
Catholic church in Cleveland, how small was its beginning and 
how it had grown within sixty years to the dimensions of a fine 
cathedral. He spoke of the hospitals, homes, asylums and 
schools founded by his sect, and of its readiness to aid suffering 
mankind and look after the salvation of souls. 

The monsignor spoke well. His gesture was fatherly, hig 
tongue smooth. He told of the teachings of the priest— first of 
God, then of our country. Applause rose in some part of the 
house. He spoke of our public schools, and blessed them. The 
applause became general. Father Thorpe explained further that 
the parochial schools are supplementary to our public schools, 
and ever ready to implant patriotism in the hearts of rising gen- 
erations. His address breathed good-will to all. 

The Catholic father had spoken well, indeed. 



i8 



The Jew has celebrated many centennials, began Rabbi 
Moses J. Gries, and with a glad heart he is willing to celebrate 
~~ more. He has taken 

part in many civiliza- 
tions, marching west- 
ward with the rising sun 
and ever emerging safe 
and sound from the debris 
of the crumbling empires 
of the remote past. Of 
these, nothing is left to- 
day beyond the pyramids 
and some tablets of stone. 
If the Jew lives unto this 
f^ day, it is not as many 
think, because the curse 
of the Lord rests upon 
him, but because he is a 
God-fearing man. 

The rabbi, or, as he 

RABBI MOSES J. GRIES. expressed himself, the 

Jew, was pleased to meet upon the same platform with Protestant 

and Catholic, to make common cause with them in speaking of 

humanit}^ brotherly love, freedom, justice and honesty. 

He must have had gladness in his heart, for he began to 
speak of the persecutions to which his people had been subjected 
in Europe at about the time of the discovery of America. Like a 
miracle it was, he said, that while the sun of liberty was setting in 
the east it rose in the west, and westward went the wandering Jew. 
The rabbi was loathe to speak of the Jewish institutions of 
Cleveland. The Jew had ever sought to fulfill the great task of 
his religion, ?. <?., to educate men who loved honor and justice. 
His religion does not reach into eternity alone, but also prepares 
her people for the life on earth. 




19 



The audience seemed to appreciate the exposition of the Jew, 
for the close of his address was greeted with enthusiastic cheers 
compared with which the plaudits won by preceding speakers 
were as weak echoes. * 

SOLDIER BOYS AND PARADES. 

The victims of the Centennial were soldiers. Their tents 
formed a white city — a Venice, if you please, for the torrents of 
rain that fell during a great part of the general encampment con- 
verted the "streets" and parade grounds into canals and lakes. 
Perkins' farm became a swamp, and within that swamp regulars 
and militiamen lived amphibian lives. But the "boys" were young 
and merry-makers, and a rare sunbeam would bring back mirth 



and laughter. Strict decorum was hardly to be expected under 
the circumstances. Ask the young women who visited the mil- 
itia camp and ventured into places where their presence was little 
expected, whether.their l)lushes did not rise at remarks which 
they could hardly fail to hear. Ask their escorts — nay, ask them 
not. It is best that the unpleasant matter be forgotten, though, 
truth to say, it was for a time street talk. 

The parades brought the soldiers to town — not in perfect 
alignment, but still pleasant to behold. I liked the calvacades; 
also the generals who fell from their horses at the battalion drills 
without being hurt thereby. I liked the Third Cavalry, the 
brawny weather-btaten soldiers of the west, who reminded me of 
th*? war time, when one could see endless lines of men and horses 
passing by in fog and rain, like phantoms of a long forgotten past. 





THK GOVEKNOK. 



21 

The most brilliant figure on horseback was our polite and 
gentlemanly governor, General Bushnell. Were I a sculptor, 
charged with the task of modeling a perfect cavalier, the governor 
would be m)'- selected model. 

Dedication of the camp was marred by ugly, rainy weather. 
The clouds shed buckets of water ; the banners wept tears of 
blood — red and blue. 

The six weeks of camp life included scarcely a dry day. It 
was too bad. The Guardsmen from other cities rejoiced at the 
arrival of the end of their six or seven days' stay per regiment, 
and were glad to leave Cleveland, where their reception had been 
watery and their visit was made unpleasant by the feeling 
aroused by the great Brown Company's strike. All were bored 
and disgusted with the selection of the camp grounds. 

THE LOG CABIN. 

The IvOg Cabin is thus far the sole monument of the celebra- 
tion which seems likely to endure for another century. It was 
dedicated by the Early Settlers' Association. 'Tis said that 
Moses Cleaveland smiled as only "living bronze" can smile, from 
his elevated position across the Square as he gazed down upon 
the good people, many of whom were born during his lifetime. 
Doubtless he espied his great-granddaughter, Mrs. I,ouisa War- 
ner among the throng. 

Another smiling face present at the ceremony was that of 
"Father" Addison. The old gentleman may have lost a portion 
of his teeth in his long contest "against time," but he is yet able 
to whistle "Auld Lang Syne." Though his hair be white as 
snow, his heart is still young. He certainly is one of our "land- 
marks." He was as busy during the Centennial as our director- 
general. 

The cabin may be seen at the right of the eastern entrance 
to Gordon Park, but on its removal thither it was not re-erected 
with as much care as when first built upon the Square. 



22 



FOUNDERS' DAY. 

It was a great day — the greatest of them all. There were 
speeches in the forenoon — people are fond of talking. Then 
there was singing. From a practical point of view the best 
speech of the day was made by J. G. W. Cowles (why so many 
initials?). He announced the donation to the city by Mr. John 
D. Rockefeller of a strip of land in the East End valued at over 
$600,000. The announcement was greeted with deafening ap- 
plause. 

Parades took place in the afternoon and evening, stirring the 
entire city to wonder, filled the coffers of the street railroad 
companies, and proved that a hundred thousand people, possessed 
of good humor, can be easily taken care of — if left alone. The 
evening parade was greatly admired by the unskillful, and ridi- 
culed by the "knowing ones." Few of the floats in the procession 
were significant of the celebration. Many had been purchased at 
second-hand from the Veiled Prophets of St. Louis. We had 
seen better efforts a few years before, when our German citizens 
celebrated German Day. The floats used on that occasion had 
been conceived b>- a Cleveland artist (Bandlow), and were built 

in this city. 

* * * 

Jupiter Pluvius still interfered with the festivities. The 
soldiers felt that they were seeing service of the severest kind, 
but the official program went on. It became a bit tiresome, as 
we went from one celebration to another. The bicycle parade 
made a hit. It was modern, brilliant, full of color and motion. 
Viva le bike ! 

More meetings. More parades. A beautiful floral exhibi- 
tion. The Knights of Pythias encampment, full of gayety and 
pleasure. Finally, the celebration of Perry's Victory. Of 
Woman's Day I find one wicked mention among my notes. 
It reads thus : 



23 

"Woman's Day. — The exercises at the Central Armory on 
Woman's Day drew a large assemblage of the fair sex. I stood 
at the door, listening to the speeches. An elderly, heavy-set 
lady spoke with a loud voice, the ring of which, more metallic 
than pleasant, filled the vast hall. All that I was able to under- 
stand were the words: 'Beer — millionaires— something radically 
wrong in Cleveland. ' 

"I thought so myself, and left — on account of the great heat 
pervading the hall." 

THE CENTENNIAL BALL. 

There exists at least one woman who will not soon forget 
the Centennial Ball. Not so much on account of its great splen- 
dor, its social success, its unique "raison d'etre," but because oi 
her meeting with an adventure as annoying to herself as amus- 
ing to the spectators, will the fete cling to her memory. It had, 
as usual, been raining during the day and evening, and it was 
her misfortune to place a dainty foot, on alighting from her car- 
riage, in one of the nvimerous mud puddles in the neighborhood. 
As she entered the blazing ball-room (at the Gray's Armory), a 
long and broad streak of mud became visible. It formed a band, 
a foot in width, in the front of her white, silk skirt. The elec- 
tric light shone mercilessly upon the stain and forced the lady 
guest to retire from the hall. My heart went with her. It grew 
dark before my eyes, but when vision returned all was changed. 

Governor Bushnell, the superb cavalier, was bowing in 
courteous attitude before a lady. Both, however, had congealed 
to marble statues, white as snow. In great bewilderment I 
looked about the hall. Wherever my gaze rested I beheld 
couples or groups of guests, all rigid stone. The picture was 
full of animation, but the actors were void of life, warmth or 
movement. I seemed to be lost in a museum of Grecian sculpt- 
ures. I recognized many faces — no Venus nor Apollo among 
them. Little of the ideal beauty of classical art could be detected. 



24 

The forms were those of everyday people. Some were too full; 
some angular. No silken gowns or fine embroideries hid the 
faulty lines of the white and lifeless statues. 

Evidently I had gone astray in some museum of modern 
sculpture, probably an exhibition of the works of materialistic 
art. I observed that, even though modern artists had lost the 
sense of the beautiful, they were eminently successful in portray- 
ing the facial characteristics of their subjects. Every marble 
face betrayed the thought of the living being at the moment of 
transmutation. Here was a smile frozen to the lips; there a 
grin. The lines of one face were disdainful ; another bore an 
expression of scorn. The scornful face looked into that of a 
young man of mean appearance. Apparently the owner of the 
face was not over pleased with an invitation to dance. The eyes 
of a beautiful male statue were fixed upon a lady who seemed to 
enjoy a confidential confab with another man-figure. They 
looked almost life-like in their earnestness. The grotesque was 
approached by the statue of a corpulent woman, leaning upon 
the marble arm of an attenuated young man. This group was 
watched by a comely, slender maiden, whose face was full of 
solicitude. Another young woman was immortalized in the act 
of secretly wiping a tear away. Near her stood a young man in 
the act of blowing his nose with a handkerchief. The linen had 
doubtless crumbled to dust. 

The musicians, frozen, like the guests, in the midst of the 
fete, formed a picture at once life-like and amusing. As I 
paused, admiring the great skill and natural execution of the 
unknown sculpture who had created the marvels before me, the 
arm of the bass drummer moved suddenly. I was startled, and 
heard a loud "thud." l^o my mortification I discovered that I had 
fallen asleep, and had been rudely awakened by the dropping of my 
head upon the railing of the balcony whence I had been looking 
down upon the brilliant scenes of the Centennial Ball. It was i 
o'clock in the morning, and I had been afoot all the previous day. 



25 



The celebration finally wound up in a "fizzle." The fire- 
works exploded an hour prior to the time set. The sham battle 
was fought before a vast multitude of people, who were unaware 
of what was going on before their eyes. It was a sham battle in 
the severest sense of the term. As the last public demonstration 
came the popular "howl" next day. 

The Centennial Celebration began July 19 and ended Sep- 
tember 10. For it weie expended $70,000 in fireworks, decora- 
tions, parades, meetings, and arch and other ephemeralities. We 
enjoyed ourselves like children, and when all is over grumble 
over our folly. Still, the log cabin is left. It might have been 
a prouder monument- that's all. 




^^^^^^^^^^^; 



26 



McKinley vs. Bryan. 



THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1896. 

The remarkable presidential campaign of 1896 found, in 
Cleveland, its most varied expression upon our Public Square. 
There politicians of all shades expounded their theories. Upon 
that beloved spot the man who called not a dollar his own coun- 
selled the nation and its millionaires as to their financial policy. 
There will the coming Revolution (?) be fought. Beware of the 
Square ! 

Was not the mayor Forced to appear upon that historic spot, 
after the police had arrested a number of the "people's orators," 
and assure the infuriated "mob" that the freedom of speech 
should not be impaired? Somehow or other, it seems that the 
guardians of the peace must always be first in breaking it. 

At all hours of the day and night groujjS of men could be 
seen assembled upon the square. Half the populace had turned 
orators — some bad, some mediocre and a few good. Populism 
made considerable headway. At length the campaign commit- 
tees found it expedient to send emissaries to stop the tide of 
anarchistic (sic) doctrine. 

Gold and silver floated in the air like soap bubbles, intangi- 
ble, but pleasant to behold. Money talkers (but not money mak- 
ers) were present. The latter pulled the wires while the former 
danced. It was a never-to-be-forgotten sight. After all (hats 
off!) many a sound argument was advanced from the riclcety 
board rostrum. The people of the United States, mark you, are 
not confirmed in folly, though as good-hearted as those of any 
nation. They are so patient, too. One need fear no upheaval as 
long as politicians utilize argument for weapons. 



27 

Mckinley. 

Myion T. Herrick bowed low toward his own carriage, 
which he had left but a moment before to enter the Sociel\- for 
Savings building. Thus, with due respect, he saluted his friend, 
William McKinley, Jr. , the next president of the United Slates, 
who was at the time his guest. I like Myron for this courtesy of 
a well-bred gentleman. Grand Dieu ! If your friends lift not 
their hats to 3^ou, your enemies never will. 

Mr. McKinley, it must be said, has little of which to com- 
plain in the treatment which he received at the hands of his 
political adversaries. As a gentleman and a citizen, at least, he 
was respected by all. Even his political record, though turned 
upside down and inside out, gave little satisfaction in the way of 
criticism to the searching eyes of the eager and hungry news- 
paper wolves around him. 

Was it a golden mediocrity that protected him ? 

I shall dwell upon neither the monej^ controversy nor the 
tariff question, because neither has ever yet been solved and 
neither will be settled until universal socialism has become 
reality. No tariff and no money will be required in that felicit- 
ous future millennium. 

Certain it is that Mr, McKinley is a man of fair abilities, 
good working power, a model husband (your bow is acknowl- 
■edged, ladies), a loving son, an earnest citizen. There be those, 
however, who doubt whether he will prove firm as a president. 
Mark Hanna's ascendancy upon the political horizon has some- 
w^hat overshadowed our Napoleon of tariff fame. He is not the 
only rock in the ocean. Yet he represents all that is staple, 
today, and all disinclination to fall into the abyss of the social 
question is embodied in him. 

He stands for our culture, our institutions, our manufactur- 
ing interests. He is a friend of workingmen, and they are his 
friends. We refer doubters to the result of the election. 



Our next presklent is a pleasant and social gentleman, a man 
of tact and deconim. Dignity is a fitting quality in a man chosen 
to high office, and is not to be lightly regarded providevi it be 
not a mantle to co\*er the hollowness of a quack. Reiiig no 
disciple of Jeffersonian Democracy, no reason called him to go 
among the people and preach his political doctrine. The pev^ple 
went to him and he spoke of pleasant thingfs. referred to his and 
their patriotism, praised their common-sense in matters of 
national importance, and prophesied a brighter future. Mark 
my word — his prophecy will be fulfillevl. Sunshine follows rain, 
even in human affairs. Who will ^ly that Mt MoKiuley is not 
a wise man — ^a seer of the future? He has been called a man of 
one idea. But what if that one idea be the idea that gives work 
to the unemployed and secures for every woikingman a fair 
wage ? If his idea furnishes the means to these blessings, it is 
not his fault that the manutacturer pockets the profits. He can 
h;irdly prevent that. 

We of Cleveland have seen and heard much of Mr. McKiu- 
ley during the past summer. He was our guest. We cheered 
him and he bowed and smiled upon us. He spoke to us in nice, 
scholarly phrases, and here, as in Canton, his words were pleas- 
ant. And why should not the sky appear rose-hued to him ? He 
has reached the goal of his life's ambition, his triends are numer- 
ous and powerful, his health and appetite are good, he sleej^s well 
and must view with pleasure the prospect of going to Washing- 
ton clothed in a suit made entirely of American fabrics. An 
urbane occupant of the presidental chair promises to give a 
pleasant tinge to the disappointment of unsuccessful politicians. 
If Mr. >CcKinley succeed in this, peace and prosperity must 
soon pre\-ail the cc>untr>- over. 

All hail to our new president 1 



29 

MARK HANNA. 

Our u^wiisnian, M;irk Hajina, did not make jjolilics his busi- 
ness. He rather made a business of politics. The ever-success- 
ful business man, Hanna, was therefore sure to succeed in politics. 
The event proves our assertion. He mu.st have conducted the 
presidential campaign in the same manner as he attends to his 
large business interests. The organization of liis forces was per- 
fect. He proved himself the posses.sor of the eagle eye and 
massive brain of the High Sheriff of Nottingham, but he also 
proved a better jester than that important personage of comic opera, 

'i'hcre is a striking similarity between the opera and the last 
campaign. The worthy sheriff fought robbers, outlaws, men of 
the road. Our Marcus Alonzo denounced the silverite host as 
anarchists, cheats and frauds. The majority accepted the joke in 
dead earnest and worked with a will to destroy this band of fire- 
brands. 

I venture that Mark Hanna often laughed over the success 
of the farce — played, I will also admit, for the good of his coun- 
try. He understood his fellow citizens better than his neighbors. 
He played upon their patriotism, their selfishness, their conser- 
vatism ; in short, upon their good and bad qualities. Who will 
deny that it was a masterly hand that swept the multifarious 
strings of his political instrument? 

Our Marcus Alpnzo has been attacked as a monster. His 
enemies do not know him. He is a man of many good qualities 
— even a man of heart. He can not be classed with the "Pluto- 
crats," the rich men of the Eastern States. His tastes are sim- 
ple. He loves pleaj-ant company, enjoys a good joke, laughs 
heartily and is as accessible to a poor man as the next of us. 
His business methods are those of every business man in the 
country. In that respect he is neither better nor worse than his 
peers, but to his business affairs he applies an enormous power 
for work, a clear vision, a money-making talent. 



30 



His love of politics is rooted in his fondness for strife and 

conquest. He does not seek office — has no taste for it — but he 

rejoices in the power of a deus ex-niachinae or a United States 

senator. 

BRYAN. 

Since his defeat, the American people will accord Willian 
Jennings Bryan greater justice than before. He came as comes 
a comet, and disappeared like a Phoenix. After all, the boy- 
orator was a man captor. He will yet be heard from. If you 

will read with candor 
what I have to say, 
you will agree with 
me, for I am writing 
not as the "Leader," 
nor as a follower of 
"parties." 

It is not the men 
who march in the uni- 
formed ranks of polit- 
ical clubs who shape 
publicopinion,but the 
gifted citizens of the 
nation. Of such is 
Bryan. In this respect 
it matters little wheth- 
er he be right or wrong. You perhaps saw and heard him at 
the Central Armory. Unless they be mere jesters, there are 
few men of great eloquence who do not utter some })owerful 
truths. Bryan, whose honesty of purpose has never been as- 
sailed by the fair-minded among his opponents, was in earnest. 
If he quoted the Bible, he .spoke as did Christ to the poor. Err- 
ing, he yet voiced the manhood and the patriotism of our day. 
Neither a god nor a demon, he towered a giant above many 
patriotic pigmies. He attacked, like a fearless Roman, the 




31 

abuses of the times, and prescribed remedies of doubtful ingredi- 
ents. 

He was referred to as a bajazzo, but I say he has the forehead, 
the clear, friendh^ eye, and protruding chin of some great think 
ers and humanitarians of the world. No man of his power of 
speech, his breadth of comprehension, his grim humor, his sym- 
pathetic heart can be a charlatan. Political injustice can not 
change the harmonies of a great nature to monstrosities. The 
Republican leaders did not underrate this man, for their private 
speech concerning him was not in. keeping with their pulilic ut- 
terances. In political strife, as in war, "everything goes." Men 
are brutes, after all. 

The man was great even in the hour of defeat. He was 
'tried in adversity and conquered himself. He sowed an idea, 
not cultivated a personal ambition. In doing him justice we are 
but just to nearly half our citizens. It would have been a mo- 
mentous spectacle, had milBons of our citizens followed an empty- 
headed, babbling, mouthing, insincere idol. It were folly to 
ignore the enthusiasm with which this leader of men was greeted, 
to regard as airy nothing the current of social reformatory ideas 
upon which he was raised and carried before the American na- 
tion. The sooner the Republican party takes cognizance of this 
Mene ! Tekel upharsin ! the better will it be for its own future 
and that of the entire country. 

DEBS. 

The hero of the workingmen, Eugene V. Debs. He spoke 
at Music Hall before an audience of boundless enthusiasm. 
Bryan's reception did not excel his. Debs, a tall, lean man, 
with a shining cranium, piercing eyes deeply set, and rather small 
and "foxy," is not an erudite speaker. His are the manners of 
a bajazzo, but the heart of a humanitarian. His gesture is violent, 
profuse ; his attitude sometimes painful. He stoops when 
reasoning, until he seems unable to resume an erect position. 



32 



The fluency of his diction is remarkable ; his language, how- 
ever, frequently commonplace. Still, he is not posing as a learned 
orator. He is the friend of the poor, and a workingman. I 
liked the following sentences of his speech : 

"There is a conflict between /-- s, 

man and the dollar. The dollar has 
ruled long enough. Lincoln said 
that man was born before the dollar." 

"The tramp has grown into a 
grand army ; his march 
— tramp, tramp, has 
grown into a funeral 
march to the grave. ^!^ 
Through his rags, 
through his squalor, I 
can see the lineaments of man." 

"I plead for no human sym' 
pathy. I ask office from no one. 
lyabor can give me no office. I pre- 
fer to remain free and speak the 
truth. The palpitating, the quiver- 
ing heart of humanity demands 
consideration from all true men." 

"It is becoming so now that a 
tnan who does nothing to earn the 
;title of anarchist is a fit subject for 
.suspicion." 

"The New York press hailed Lincoln as a freak from the 
morasses of Illinois, and the Boston pre.ss said that a kangeroo 
had estaped from his keepers in the west." 

"The pulpit no longer dares to preach the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ. In all His beautiful, self-denying life He never had a 
dollar. In this respect he differs materially from Archbishop 
Ireland. This priest of Christ, who has had time enough to 




33 

accumulate $1,000,000, has no real sympathy for the suffer- 
ing poor." 

SPARKS. 

Mr. X., once chairman of the Republican committee! It 
is remarkable how such as he should ever reach the top of the 
ladder; but, come to think, lightmaterialusually rises to thesurface. 

An owl's nest — the Democratic headquarters. The inmates 
seemed to fear their own incapability and locked themselves in. ' 
-The secretary appeared furious as a chained dog, ready to snap 
at every newcomer. 

Bryan association — Colonel Lipps, small in stature, small in 
politics. Charley Salen, an indefatigable newspaper reader. 

Poor results upon either side were the sequence of such 
leadership. It must be dirty work which is known as "practical 
politics," since our "best citizens" hold aloof from it. 

Hustlers were plenty in this campaign, but not of the kind 
which create bread and butter. The drones were flying about. 

SMALL FRY. 

Redeeming features: That not everyone becomes crazed 
over politics. 

That the entire nation regains its mental composure after 
election day. 

That the lies of the partisan press find yearly fewer believers. 

That political campaigns arebecoming campaigns of education. 

That the American school teachers are ladies. 

That the so-called anarchists existed only in the imaginations 
of people who do not know the meaning of the word anarchy. 

That we may still criticise the unjust findings of our courts 
of law. 

That workingmen in general are satisfied with their condi- 
tion since they repudiated the calamity howler on the other side. 

That McKinley is the Napoleon of the comic papers only. 

That our Public Square was not carried away as were some 
of the enthusiasts who listened to the speeches delivered thereon. 

That Mark Hanna was not declared a labor-crusher by his 
employes, for they must know the facts in the ca»e. 

That the golden days are to come, now that election is over. 




ROBERT E. m'KISSON. 



35 



Robert E. McKisson. 



AS MAN, POLITICIAN AND MAYOR. 

In one of the chairs upon the floor of our municipal council 
chamber, not many years since, there sat at each returning ses- 
sion a young man, beardless and rather pale in complexion. He 
was quick at repartee, vehement in argument (for he was fond of 
battle) and yet quiet and dignified in bearing. Ringlets of gold 
were formed by his hair upon an interesting head As a council- 
man he was a thorn in the flesh of the existing city administra- 
tion, as represented by John Farley. 

"The boy," was the appellation habitually used by that 
municipal giant in referring to his young adversary. They 
represented a modern David and Goliath. At the battle for spoils 
in the spring of 1895 Farley and his friend Blee were slain by 
the hero of the younger Republican element, who shortly before, 
at the primaries, had also routed the Old Guard of his own party. 

Thus Robert E. McKisson became mayor of Cleveland. 

Behold the young man in the administrative chair. Acci- 
dentally, perhaps, or by misadventure and through inexperience, 
he had himself deposited in the resting place of the great sundry 
sharp pointed tacks, which were for a time ministers to his own 
discomfort. Biting his lips (figuratively and actually) he reso- 
lutely brushed them away, whereat was heard from among the 
politicians more or less loud "squealing" and distant grumbling. 

A new era, however, dawned in our city afiairs. Youth and 
vigor supplanted love of comfort and repose. When mistakes 
were made their consequences were less serious to the welfare of 
Cleveland than the stagnant calm under which municipal aflfairs 
had been rusting for a decade or more. The mayor surrounded 



36 

hitnsell' with iiK-n of fair al)ilit\-, honesty of purjiose and good 
standing in the coninuinity. If in one instance he made a mis- 
take, he did not hesitate to correct it. The hitter fact demon- 
strates his possession of a iinn character, when all the circum- 
stances under which the remedy was ai)plied ire taken into 
consideration. 

As a man Ro])ert Iv McKisson is generally liUle known. 
Yet, a great part of the olhcial is made up of the man. So far as 
one may Judge from outward appearances the mayor is of a jiosi- 
tive nature, relentless, active, {luick-temjiered and somewhat 
moody. His mind is of a practical turn, lacking in imagination. 
As a speaker, therefore, he is uninteresting, without power of 
modelling language into beautiful [)iclures or of ex])rcssing 
happy thoughts in an attractive manner. He often falters, repeats 
himself or becomes confused and fails to find the right word at 
the right time. He is never carried away by his subject, but 
rather treats it in a foiuial wa>- — and very formal at that. He 
sticks to his "proposition," which in turn sticks to him. 

In polemical strife, however, he rises far above his habitual 
adversaries. His retorts are spontaneous, sharp as a tlagger, 
frequently personal and nearly always to the point. They (his 
retorts) spare no feelings and invariable hud the weak spot of Ihe 
enemy. They are quick as the stroke of a viper, and almost as 
venomous whenever his antagonist forgets the respect due his 
positi(m. h)ven Dan Reynolds, himself a valiant free-lance in 
debate, hnds it prutlent to couch his weapon before this master of 
verbal warfare. 

Mr. McKis.son is a man of plain habits. He likes, without 
yielding too much to the liking, pleasant company, but he is fond 
of teasing his friends in a good-natured manner. It has been 
said of him that he is heartless, and yet I know of instances in 
which he has proved a man of tender feeling toward the poor. 
He gives liberally, and it is established that the remuneration of 
his oflice hardly meets the demands upon his check book. His 



37 

exertions on behalf of the needy and unemployed are honest 
efforts, and it is the slanderer which decries them as movements 
for political effect. His action during the progress of the great 
Brown Company's strike has been complained of. But, if his 
attitude as a private citizen was favorable to the cause of work- 
ingmen, as an official it was more so. Few know of his long and 
arduous struggle with that corporation, how he endeavored to 
induce its managers to yield to just demands, how he besought 
them to make peace with their employes. Not many know of 
his dejection for days after the failure of all his well meant 
efforts was assured. Yet he reaped the devil's thanks, sown by 
the very men on whose behalf he had labored long and faithfiilly. 
He never made a loud complaint against his judges, even those 
whose decision was dictated by passion and malevolence. And 
in spite of all, the poorest of men ever finds the door of the 
mayor's office open to him whenever he chooses to enter it. 
More than that, he finds ever a willing ear. If the demands of 
the poor are not always granted, it is less the fault of the mayor 
than that of the hour. And then, some of us have now and 
then a foolish wish. 

THE POLITICIAN. 

Mayor McKisson may be regarded as a politician of un- 
doubted ability. His success in the field of statesmanship (the 
latter may be a limited one) within the brief period of two years 
is remarkable. Few novices in that oldest of sciences can hope 
for progress as speedy. He has the instinct and temperament of 
a politician, and it may safely be predicted that no defeat at the 
polls will find him — as his enemies like to express it — in the 
gutter. His wisdom in forming strong alliances comes to the 
surface now and then. By and through that faculty he has be- 
come a power. Determination, tenacity, love of supremacy, self- 
reliance, make him not subservient to others, and when he joins 
a general-in-chief it must be with the understanding that his 



38 

banner shall float near the standard of the army and be visible 
to all. 

His early political errors were quickly corrected. He has 
become true to his friends, and is to be found to-day with a strong 
following. If not invariably truthful, it is rather an error of the 
head than of the heart. He may have held, in common with 
many others, that a politician must be cunning ; and with it that 
other belief that to be "cunning" is synonymous with artifice and 
deceit. Time and experience have done much to convince him 
of the fallacy of first views on that subject (if he ever held them). 
A politician, having to deal with all sorts of men, must be crafty, 
but need not necessarily be dishonest. We need fair and honest 
politicians, men of strong will power, of good working capacity 
and capability. 

One might love Mayor McKisson for the enemies he has 
made — for some of them, at least. From the first he has encount- 
ered the opposition of corrupt rings in the Republican party. 
His candidacy was distasteful to the old, easy-going element. 
None of that element have ever found it in their hearts to forgive 
him for his victory over their heads. Again, to-daj^ the cry for a 
businessman's administration is raised. It is a fooling clamor. 
Business men, as a rule, have slight understanding of the multi- 
tudinous wants of a large community, and most of their number 
would be easy prey for ward politicians. The whole training of 
a business man lies in another direction, aims at rapid gains, and 
evinceslittle respect for the welfare of his fellowmen in the deeper 
meaning of the term, "personal freedom." The sphere of a city's 
government is wider than that circumscribed by financial ques- 
tions. Beside, the history of business administiations in various 
cities proves that they are failures in nearly every instance. The 
civic virtues of the Spartans, the Greeks and the Romans of 
classical times have not been inherited by our money-making 
people. Great epochs may awaken within us a spirit of willing- 
ness to make sacrifices upon tlie public altar; ordinary times and 



39 

everyday life find us insensible to "heroic" means, indifferent 
and dull. 

Our mayor's adversaries have carried their judgment of the 
man to extremes. The motive of his every act has been ques- 
tioned by them. They have infected the unaware with their ven- 
omous belittlement of Robert E. McKisson. The greater an 
absurdity the more easily will it find adherents. Why, was there 
ever a man of whom no good could be said .-* Is the chief exec- 
utive of our beautiful city the worst of men? Have we fallen so 
far that the majority of us saw fit to cast their ballots for a Mc- 
Kisson ? Anon, sir ! They be knaves who thus cater to our 
superficialties. 

No partisan spirit, but a desire to do justice to a man whom 
we have honored with high office, dictates these lines. His vir- 
tues and faults shall be shown according to the knowledge and 
comprehension of the writer. A cry has been raised that he is the 
builder of a party "machine." It can not be denied that our mayor 
has succeeded in forming a strong organization. In this, too, he has 
evidenced his talents as a leader. And it may be claimed that 
the bitter attacks made upon him from the very first necessitated 
the formation of a strong defense. Under existing circumstances 
this became a matter of self-preservation, and as he is not one 
who would yield before an enemy he could not choose but smite 
his political adversaries. To-day he is master of the situation, 
the better, no doubt, for the citizens at large. 

His partisans have the open sesame to political preferment, 
but they are probably as capable as the partisans of another man. 
His action in this regard may not differ materially from that of 
his predecessors, and it is a known fact that in some instances 
civil service rules have been adhered to by his order. 

The followers of Mr. McKinley are full of admiration for 
Mark Hanna's strong party organization in the last presidential 
campaign. They seem to despise, however, in McKisson, that 
which they admired in Hanna. I fail to observe consistency 



40 

in their view. Mr. Hanna has performed that which no 
National chairman ever before attempted in perpetuating his 
"machine" after the clo.se of the last great and most wonderful 
battle for Republican supremacy. No one has ever questioned 
the mayor's loyalty to his party. He fought for the successful 
candidate, notwithstanding the disdain which he was well aware 
the general-in-chief of the Republican forces nursed for him- 
self. 

Mr. Hanna belonged to the opposition from the beginning. 
The "youngster" was not of his henchmen, and had had thetemer- 
ily to "carve for himself." The young men and the strong men 
were with him. Once mayor, the Hannaites sought to draw 
their coils about the new power, only to see them torn asunder. 
The old faction had found its match — the coming contest will be 
a sharp one. 

In our degenerate days no man, whatever his personal merits, 
can hope to win political prominence without the aid of a strong 
organization. This is fact, not a matter of ethics. Political 
" machines," it must be admitted, are detrimental to the public 
good. In some form or other, they have always existed. They 
are as old as the oldest government in the world. Smash them, 
and they reset themselves; oust them, and the}' grow again. 
They may, in brief, be likened to the brothel, which no wager oi 
w ir was ever yet sufficient to exterminate. Talk of political 
machines, like a Reverend Knight, who thought to cleanse our 
city of the social evil ! You remember the result? 

Were we, as citizens, to co operate with our mayors enter 
into their plans, assist them when we honestly can, instead of 
acting the high-executioners, the critics at a foggy distance, then 
the influence of politicians would become less powerful, the 
machine less of a necessity. Thus all political sins come back 
upon the people under a republican form of government. 



41 
AS MAYOR. 

Whatever the faults of Mayor McKisson, he is an honest 
man. Never the shadow of a suspicion has risen against him. 
Having learned to know him as a man and as a politician, we 
like him best as mayor of Cleveland. He is Hberal-minded, if 
not broad-minded ; industrious, if not ingenious. His distinctive 
faculties are common-sense, an enormous working-power and a 
great love for his work. His heart is in his duties. He glories 
or frets according to success achieved or defeat encountered. 
Not an easy master, he is exacting to a degree. He is more 
feared than loved at the City Hall. Still, the desire is in him to 
do right. He can not be looked upon as a spendthrift of the 
people's money, even though Councilman Black be convinced 
that some of the department expenses are high. 

A little story will illustrate the situation in this connection : 
The health officer had purchased for himself, at public expense, 
a handsome office chair. When comfortably nestled therein a 
few days later, the mayor entered. The chair's elegance at- 
tracted his attention. 

"A beautiful piece of furniture you have here," he remarked, 
bluntly. 

"It is pretty," answered the doctor, blushingly. 

"Your own acquisition?" 

"It belongs to the office." 

The doctor's face was burning by this time. 

"How much? " 

"Thirty-four dollars." 

"What?" exclaimed the mayor, indignantly. "Why, man, 
your mayor has an old, stiff-backed chaii for comfort, and I trust 
that you will not be less modest." 

The next day the doctor sat in an unassuming, yet tasteful 
chair, the price of which was $9.00. 



42 

Mayor McKisson is very aj^t to cut down the traveling ex- 
penses of his officials. He scrutinizes their expense bills with 
the eye of a hawk. His knowledge of details of city affairs is 
little less than astonishing ; his watch over men and their acts 
incessant. He has frequently been censured for meddling with 
the workings of the various departments. 

"I am the responsible head of the city government, and I 
want to know what is going on," he answers you. 

Hardly a day-laborer is engaged without his knowledge. He 
has an excellent memor}- for faces and names — a valuable faculty 
for a public man. 

How and where he does his work is almost a mystery to the 
uninitiated. The most of his time seems to be employed in the 
reception of callers, who throng his office at almost every hour 
of the day. He is often compelled to hide awa}- in the private 
office of the city attorney or the city engineer ; his own private 
office affording no seclusion from intruders. His plans for great 
city improvements have been conceived in the silent hours of the 
night, or worked out during intermissions between flux and re- 
flux at his office. 

His seemingly reckless spirit of enterprise created a com- 
motion among influential citizens, many of whom could see 
nothing but prospective increase of expense in his activity. It 
did not, apparentl3^ occur to them to inquire whether a new sys- 
tem of sewerage, widening the river, a garbage plant and exten- 
sion of the waterworks plant were not among the necessities of 
the large and rapidly grownng city of Cleveland. Our people 
had been too long accustomed to dull inactivity in the City Hall. 
It is not to be wondered that the fresh breeze of energy, spring- 
ing from that quietus, should have been at first unpleasant. 
Soon, however, the more thoughtful of the citizens began to 
comprehend the aims of the young mayor, who, for that matter, 
was engaged simply in carrying to fruition the promises made 
before his election and upon whicl) he was chosen for the office. 



43 

This in itself is the strange feature of the situation— so little are 
we prepared, nowadays, to believe in pre-election utterances. 

The realization of his plans was the cause of much up-hill 
work for the mayor. It required all his audacity and tenacity, 
liis push and vigor, to master the immense task before him. Had 
he been less of a politican his exertions would have been unavail- 
ing. Not only the opposition of public prejudice, but the general 
assembly of Ohio was to be converted. In Columbus he con- 
tended with men of his" own stamp; there he was obliged to do 
battle with private interests, to rout the hidden enemy from his 
own city upon his favorite battle ground. By capitulation to or 
even a truce with them, he might have facilitated matters, but 
he preferred to be a free champion, to win or fall single-handed. 
All through the last session of the general assembly he was 
actively engaged, night and day, in the city's interest. His 
power of endurance grew with the difficulties before him. He 
was artful or bold, as occasion demanded, but never lost sight of 
his purpose. His victory was complete, and if he has made 
•enemies by his achievements, the future historians of the city of 
Cleveland will name him as one of her best citizens and mayors. 

As would a good general he followed up his victories, carry- 
ing the fight into the council chamber, where he met frequent 
•opposition. Already, however, actual work has begun upon some 
•of the most important improvements. Ten years hence the city 
will have shed its habiliments of a conglomeration of villages. 

Mayor McKisson's energy and enterprise have aroused 
Clevelanders generally to a more active participation in public 
affairs. Whether their efforts be opposed to his plans, or in sup- 
port of them, they and the city will be improved through him. 
It proved after all not a bad thing that the citizens choose a 
young man as their chief executive. 

The resulting increase in our bonded indebtedness should be 
cheerfully supported, for it must be admitted that each and every- 
one of the improvements under construction or in preparation is 



44 

not only of great utility, but is imperatively needed. Without 
exception they tend toward the betterment of the city's sanitary 
and commercial condition. As a result we shall have a healthier 
town and healthier homes for rich and poor alike. Increased 
health means increased happiness. 

As a rule we incline to criticise a man of whom we know 
much by his small dealings, quite forgetting the great results fol- 
lowing his actions. Thus the methods of Mayor McKisson are 
questioned by many citizens. But it must be borne in mind that 
he has to deal with a city council. Like a statesman with a par- 
liament "upon his hands," he must enter into combinations, fight 
his way through as best he can, if he is to accomplish anything. 
He has never been charged with the employment of dishonorable 
means, even by the opposition newspapers. His predecessors 
were compelled to employ similar methods ; his successors can 
not do otherwise. His strong personality brings him promi- 
nently before the public, causes him to be hated by some and ad- 
mired by others. And after all, he is a man of the people. The 
verj'- rich, the corporations such as railroad companies and others 
who seek to encroach upon public property, are among hi.s 
enemies. They will oppose him at the polls. 

Only one mayor, within the history of our city, has ever 
been honored with a re-election. The one exception to the gen- 
eral rule was Mr. Stephen Buhrer, mayor of Cleveland from 1867 
to 1 87 1. Will history repeat itself ? Robert E. McKisson has 
the confidence of his success. 

Mot long since a group of councilmcn, enemies to his candi- 
dacy, were engaged in discussing the coming campaign. 

"Every time a new mayor is elected the city is out by $200,- 
000," said one of them, and not one of the gentlemen present cared 
to question the judiciousness of the remark. 

It remains with the citizens to decide whether or not they 
find a change at the City Hall expedient. 



45 



Our City Administration. 



A FEW REMARKS CONCERNING FACTS— 
NOT TALK. 

The city administration stands or falls with the mayor. 
Much is said concerning the political methods of Mayor Mc- 
Kisson. It is conceded that he is an accomplished politician. 
Everyone says so. Now, if this be true, I take it that the same 
degree of wisdom which dictates his political movements will 
lead him to direct the affairs of the city in the best manner possi- 
ble. He will seek to please the people, which he can only do by 
giving them a satisfactory administration. 

During the two years of his official life he has accomplished 
more than was expected of him. If that be a fault, I will not 
seek to shield him from his enemies. If it be no reason for criti- 
cism, they must stand corrected, and hide themselves as slan- 
derers, of dishonest purpose, and with no regard for the city's 
interests. The man is ndthing to me. I receive no favors from 
him. I hold no office under him, but I am not a man-hunter. 

It is within my knowledge that his appointments are made 
according to political merit ; yet appointees are expected to do 
their duty and to be strictly honest in the discharge thereof. In- 
capability or dishonesty are eradicated, immediately upon dis- 
covery, by discharge of the incapable or dishonest employe. 
Under our system of government no more can be asked. We 
are } et far from an ideal administration in municipal affairs, and 
it is only natural that, among some hundreds of official employes, 
some men should be found who ought to be displaced. Such is 
the situation on every government, in every business house. 

There are few men employed at the City Hall to-day who do 
not each day perform a full day's work for the city ; many there 



46 

are who are overworked. It is "cheap talk" which asserts that 
nothing is done at the City Hall. It is the mouthing of men 
who are not acquainted with the working of the municipal 
machinery. 

Let us take a look at the diflferent departments : 

The law department has, up to this time, won every one of 
the cit}' cases taken into court. This fact ought, even in the eyes 
of his critics, excuse the presence of Minor G. Norton, as the 
head of the department. He, withal, is a man who has courage 
to stand by his convictions, as is proven by his stand upon the 
labor ordinance. 

The department of public works, with its many branches, is 
well conducted, considering the means at its disposal. It is con- 
tinually overwhelmed with work. Director Wright is a poor 
politician, but a good, honest business man. One may safely- 
trust his word, as well as his ability. Councilman Black's in- 
vestigating committee could find but a minimum of paltr}^ short- 
comings — a great and sincere compliment to the department. It 
placed the stamp of success upon the administration thereof, and 
no better proof can be desired than that which the enemy is 
compelled to furnish. 

The glory of the City Hall clusters about the fire depart- 
ment. Having a man of integrity, ability and common-sense at 
its head, and being provided with experienced and brave chiefs, 
it can not fail to perform good work. The insurance companies 
acknowledge its efficiency by reducing their rates. Here, too, 
no better proof can be sought. 

The department of police is always more or less exposed to 
censure. Captain Abbott wielded a vigorous broom in this 
Augean stable. His selection of a superintendent, which became 
necessary through the resignation of Chief Hoehn, was a wise 
one. The department to-day is well managed, and the disposition 
of its director to rid it of intemperate men and incapable men 
deserves approval. Civil service rules have been of late 



47 

recognized to a certain measure— another reason for congrat- 
ulation. 

Director Horace L. Rossiter and his department of accounts 
are not much heard of through the public prints. The reason 
for this lies in the nature of the business transacted in that de- 
partment, which, so long as everything runs smoothly, is not 
productive of "news." The system of book-keeping in vogue is 
perfect, and totals of the city's finances may be extracted at an 
hour's notice. 

And now for the department of charities and correction. If 
the mayor ever made a wise choice, it was in placing Mr. G. 
R. Warden at the head of it. Never before, in the department's 
history, has the workhouse yielded a surplus, at the end of the 
financial year, as it now does. More than that, the surplus is a 
large one, and Director Warden has demonstrated the fact that 
public institutions may be profitably conducted. The same 
business methods are appHed to the administration of the In- 
firmary, of which no criticism has been heard during the last 
two years. This is significant in the light of the outcries against 
this institution under former administrations. 

Judgmg the present city administration by its general re- 
sults, and by the working of its various departments, we can but 
wish for its continuance. That improvements might be made 
in some of its details, neither the mayor nor his directors will 
deny. They know this better than any of us, and are striving to 
remedy existing evils. The great improvements under way 
should be carried on by the men who conceived and planned 
them, as any sensible man must admit. Partisan politics must 
be put aside if the coming two years are to yield the fruits of the 
past two years' labor. 



^ 




Board of Control, 



— OR — 

THE KNIGHTS OF THE SQUARE TABLE. 

On any Monday or Friday morning visitors at the City Hall 
will find the Board of Control in session. 

Mayor McKisson will be found at the head of the table. He 
leans back in his chair, smoking, his half-shut eyes piercing the 
blue clouds of smoke with a forlorn look. He follows the pro- 
<ceedings instead of presiding over them, so long as the secretaiy 
^of the board is engaged in working his way through a mountain 
-of routine matter. The mayor has a very large ear, so that it is 
easy for him to be "all ears" when the business of the board re- 
quires his attention. The light which falls upon his face through 
the window back of him is like a sculptor at work, changing the 
expression of that face a dozen times in five minutes, and never 
•completing a composite picture. Who and what is the man to 
^\vhom this remarkable face belongs? 

The same light falls mockingly upon the l)ald head of the 
lively mayor's secretary. Contrasting with the baldness of age 
or premature loss of hair, there lingers upon that .shining pate a 
long black lock. By virtue of this lonely "heirloom" Mr Rob- 
erts holds fast to youth and youthfulness. He is a rapid writer, 
a still more rapid reader, and a good, all-around fellow — but he 
does not smoke. He ought therefore to be the clerk of the 



49 

School Council, the lady members of which do not, as I am told, 
indulge in the weed, either. 

The air of the Board of Control chamber is sometimes blue 
as the field on which a sham battle has been fought. From out 
of the clouds thunders the voice of Director Norton. Whenever 
the good director becomes boisterous in his talk, rely upon it, he 
is at his wits' end. In vulgar parlance, he "shoots off his 
mouth" to protect with his vocal artillery the infantry of his 
brain. 

The seat opposite to that of the legal gentleman is occupied 
by a quiet member — the director of public works. Director 
Wright is remarkable as a public officer in that he never dissem- 
bles. He tells neither tale nor story — indeed, it would be unkind 
to mention the word "lie" in the same breath with his name, even 
to assert his love of veracity. This gentleman is more than 
truthful — he is kind of heart, solicitous of the welfare of the city. 
Being of a quiet disposition he is not conspicuous and maybe 
considered dull by those who know him from a distance only. 
Mr. Wright dresses very neatly ; a flower is seldom missing from 
his button hole, and he likes carnations best — he, the incarnation 
of honesty, red, white and blue. 

Next him is the director of fire, a blue-eyed, Teutonic gen- 
tleman of unique proportions — the length of his circumference 
being equal to that of his height. He is also quick of movement 
as he is of conception. More, he is clear-sighted as he is round, 
and as he is really a wise, round, portly gentleman, he may be 
considered a power in the smoky cabinet of the mayor. Mr. 
Hechler is a keen observer of human nature. It was but a few 
months after his incumbency began that he remarked one day : 
" You never know where you are at ; the men of the department 
say ' white ' if you say white, and ' black ' if you say black. 
Moral courage does not exist about these quarters, but there is 
plenty of secret intrigue and stabbing in the back." 



50 

Another gentleman present, of rather stately proportions, is 
Director Warden, the kindly benefactor of the sick and poor and 
the terror of the lazy and indolent. He is the self-made man par 
excellence, quick and sharp in his l)usiness, a little headstrong, 
but good-natured withal. Another characteristic ot his make-up 
is his friendship for young men, and many there be who believe 
that it is for this reason that he is a fast friend of the mayor. 

"Good morning, Mac," is the portly director's greeting to 
the mayor. 

" Good morning, George," the slender head of the Square 
Table answers, and both smile a friendly smile. 

Next to the director of law will be noticed Captain Abbott, 
the director of police. It appears a little as though the mayor 
had placed his director of law under surveillance — a precaution 
not altogether amiss. The captain is an old United States gov- 
ernment detective, and, therefore, close-mouthed as an oyster. 
You learn to know of him simply by what you see of him. He is 
a man of ruddy complexion, superfluous embonpoint, a good 
memory ; he is fond of a good story and a good laugh. In 
writing, he pushes the pen over the paper with his left hand, 
and the paper disappears beneath a blotter as soon as he hears 
anyone enter his office. This habit he acquired during his long 
service to the government ; the former he acquired with age. 
Both habits have become second nature with him. 

The sphinx of the Square Table is Director and Auditor 
Rossiter. The expression of his tace is sometimes as blank as 
that of the mysterious riddle of the desert sands. His thoughts 
are hidden behind a massive forehead, where also rest the ambi- 
tion and will-power of the man. His is a mathematical brain, 
quick of perception. His courage is dauntless. He fears 
neither beast nor man — not even a reporter. Active and ener- 
getic, the future is his. 

The sessions of the Board of Control resemble somewhat 
family gatherings at which the good qualities and shortcomings 



51 

of the various members may be observed. Here plans to ensnare 
the council are laid, measures which can not be passed are en- 
dorsed. Citizens who persist in doing business upon the side- 
walks may here hear their doom ; corporations their damnation. 
Here, too, momentous questions aflfecting the city's advancement 
are discussed in public after having received careful private con- 
sideration in the mayor's office. 

It is a great table, the Square Table of the Board of Control. 




52 



The City Council. 



The severest criticism which can be passed upon our city- 
legislature was made not long ago by one of its own members, 
who exclaimed : 

"It is awful, thecorruption which exists in the City Council." 
His remaik was not made in public, but 
in private converj^ation, and it has the im- 
print ot truth. It came from the man's 
heart. The question was put to him direct, 
as to whether there are not at least a few 
honest men in the assembly. 
"Ver}^ few," he answered. 
Little, comparatively, of this corruption 
appears upon the surface, even if it in fact 
exists. It would appear, however, from the 
occasional undoing of a thing that seemed 
to be well done that conditions exist that 
indicate, like the spasmodic upheaval of a 
volcano, that there are hidden fires beneath. 
Oratorical crackling is heard whereb)^ the 
true meaning of the transaction at issue is lost sight of; the "mis- 
chief maker" poses as a heio bour.d in duty to protect the inter- 
ests of the people, and most of his colleagues fall into line. A 
"stupid" councilman who votes the wrong way excuses himself 
afterward on the plea he that "neve,r caught on," or that he was 
talking with his neighbors when the malodorous thing was 
passed. 

It is generally supposed that the great corporations are the 
corrupting factors, and that a number of councilmen are their 
creatuies. At the present stage of the "game," (for government 




53 

by a council oftens appears to be nothing else) it certainly seems 
that the councilmanic opposition to the administration is hope- 
lessly within the clutches of these corporations. The great 
monopolies frequently create councilmen, and upon the arrival 
in the field of one not subservient to their will, all their energies 
(heard you not the tinkle of goUl ?) are bent to his defeat at the 
polls. Of this fact a striking example was furnished by the 
defeat of John I. Nunn, who was politically "buried" on election 
day, and admittedly because of his fearUss and worthy represen- 
tation of the people's interests in Council. 

As I have repeated herein, the unvviedly mass of voters' 
themselves are blameworthy for existing evils. To get at the 
root of the trouble, we ought not to allow a man to announce his 
candicacy, but should make our own choice, .selecting a citizen 
who, by his past, his known honesty and ability seems worthy of 
our confidence. 

But I preach to the winds — a profitless task. 

The Council constitutes a great debating club. Its delibera- 
tions are sometimes amusing — more frequently tiresome. 

City Clerk Howard H. Burgess is an astute politician. His 
is not exactly an open chamcter, but he is what people term 
"deep." His is not a "frosted" but a slippery hand. 

The "fighting" councilmen are Dr. D. B. Steuer and Mr. 
Morris Black. Dr. Steuer has of late become more .silent, while 
Mr. Black is improving his education by friction with the mayor. 
The enthusiasm of his youth is fast wearing off, and his vision 
grows clearer. In another six months he, too, will be seldom 
heard. 

Walter I. Thompson understands the business of taking care 
of himself well and successfully. 

The Billman brothers are nice boys, but rather like lanter^s 
without candles. 



.SI 

n. M. Cast" si>cak.s of tliitij;s 1)\ llu-ir propcf names— a spade 
is to liiiu a S]»a(lc and lie vlocs it tiolwilhstamlin^ it soinids 
rallu'i liki' a dainiialioii tluMi-ot. 

C. I. Daik-y is a i>tM iVrl j;(.'nlk-inan, witli a tatailly l»)i Inllin)^ 
liis iu'i_i;hl)oi s to pcacclul sIuiuIht. His speeches arc rt'Stlul as 
1 luli.iii in(.'Ii)dv. 

LMu'N'alior William Tn'scolt tliis titli' lits llif man. 

'iMic next president of the conned will he C. A. Wit/.el. 
Chase knows athini; or two, anil tii-serves tlie lionor. 

Arcnise him, anil he disphiys a line .sarcasm ; inider ordinary 
cirenmstnnccs he .seems a hit thill — C. W. Toland. 

A Democratic triangle — McKcJiney, Barrett and Riley. 
" r.it " is liked hetler than the (piestions he sometimes hkes to 
ini(-'»^'l inli> the dehate ; Barrett is a man ol weiiL^ht, and Riley a 
silent etmsnn\er ol cigars, and his neighhor is Hrytlen. 

An estimahle man — C. l^'rese. lie is also the only mend)er 
who pays dne attention to the proceedings. Mr. Riley is dnnd) as 
an oyster, bnt Mr. I'rese shames the silence ot the grave. Would 
some of the "talky" memhers were more like him. 

1 like Captain C. ]\. Henham because he talks little and to 
the point, and WH>rks much, accomplishing a good deal. 

n. II. I.ncas, when he "goes in" for a thing, knows thor- 
tnighly what he is abont. 

W. II. StinelKHMub — ought he to enjoy the honor of mention 
here ' 

The herald of the administration is I. T. Drewett. 

V. A. h'merson -the inesitlent. 

J. l'\ Palmer he knows what to .say, but not always when 
to remain silent. 

Last, but not least — Pan F. Reyni>lds, Jr. Pan enjoys the 
faculty of speech and of tlistinct enunciatiim. He is the great 
gun of the council — its 'riuindeiing Juinter. l-'veu his too he- 
cpient utterances fail to become monotonous. His "grand 
stand " dis]ilay, to use a favorite councilmanic expression, is 



55 

sometimes superb, but in instances insincere. At such times he 
is most eloquent- 

Since the above was written a new disgrace has clouded the 
council chamber. That unfortunate garbage commission, with 
its secret meetings, etc., has illustrated anew the Shakespearean 
meaning in the prince's utterance, " There is something rotten in 
the State of Denmark." 

Turn on the light ! Let us know whether guilt exists and 
where ! Let the sledge-hammered public opinion fall upon the 
faithless, hot from the fire of investigation, and reshape our mu- 
nicipal destinies! Drive the money-changers from the urban 
temple, lest our afl&irs become as foul as tho5>e of Chicago — we 
can not stand the drain. Honest and public-spirited citizens 
should act as a board of revision and hold firmly in check those 
who have opportunities of robbing the people. If guilt exists 
let action V^e brought against the wrong-doers in the courts, that 
they may be forever disgraced. With all its faults the press has 
done nobly in this matter. Let me for once sing its praises, for 
it has exp>o.sed the schemers and their schemes. 

Watch your councilmen even as the great moneyed institu- 
tions watch their "trusted" employes. Learn how they spend 
their evenings, and you will soon know who attends little private 
dinners and drinks champagne for which they do not pay. It is 
in fair scenes like this wherein corruption, like the serpent in 
Eden, performs its destructive work. I blush to suggest this 
process, but surveillance seems to have become 'a necessity. A 
Dave Rankin, a Peter Witt, a Robert Bandlow or two, "cranks," 
if you will, are yet a blessing to the community, for such alone 
find words in which to publicly denounce the bad practices which 
are manifested in the membership of our council. 

But fiat ju.stitia ! Let us not forget that there yet l>e honest 
men in our city legislature. 'Twould be altogether sad, could 
not one word for redemption be said. 



56 
WHAT FOR? 

The Honorable Dan Reynolds, who is best known for his 
fiery display of oratory at city council sessions, has lately deliv- 
ered himself of a great speech favoring all sorts of public 
improvements as a means to the attraction of capital to our 
beautiful city.'; ^; ^2 i^j 

r!^*I greatly enjoyed his arguments, not so much on account of 
their novelty (I had heard them before), as on account of the 
light which a sage old philosopher cast upon it in the way of 
quiet comment. 

Said Dan : ' ' Let us all take off our coats and work for the 
aggrandizement of our city." 

"What for?" queried the old man. 

"We must encourage our large industries." 

"What for?" 

"It is our duty to facilitate commerce in this region." 

"What for?" 

"Every citizen of this town must be willing to reach into his 
pocket for the development of Cleveland." 

"What for?" 

"We must become the largest city in the State in every 
respect." 

"What for?" 

The queer old man aroused my curiosity to such a degree 
that, after the adjournment of the session at which the speech 
was made, I asked him to explain his views on Reynolds' subject. 

"What for?" he asked once more. 
'^!^^"What for? Wh}^ do you not know that the more business 
we get into the city, the more w^ork there will be for the unem- 
ployed, the hungry, the starving? ^The larger the city, the more 
numerous the opportunities offered to her citizens?" 

"Now, my foolish young friend," said the old gentleman ; 
"you think that you have uttered a profound thought. Let us 



57 

look a little more closely to Mr. Reynolds' remarks. Large cities 
are a curse to mankind. In them brotherly feeling between man 
and man is killed ; in them we become strangers to each other ; 
there, almost one-half the inhabitants live upon the remainder 
without the performance of any productive work. Every office 
building erected is a stronghold of an army of vampires and 
parasites, who suck the life-blood of the real working-man. 

"The large industries in a city create a few rich men and an 
army of slaves, who become rebels in times of industrial trouble. 
The}' create women who lose taste for home-life and motherhood. 
They fill the air with impurities and poison the streams. And, 
shall I reach into my pocket to foster private enterprise ? to 
create ' robber barons ' who combine among themselves to rob us 
of the few dollars v/e may possess ? 

"The largest city of the State — do you know what that im- 
plies? The greatest misery in the State ; the most diabolic vice, 
the most abject poverty, the vilest slavery, the worst habitations, 
the most heartless employers, the most unscrupulous lawyers, 
the most damnable politicians. It means poor air, poor light, 
adulterated food, pale children, sickly men and women. Greater 
Cleveland is a monstrosity. Our city is large enough, wicked 
enough, busy enough, beautiful enough." 

"But you can not check its growth," I observed as the old 
man paused. 

"No," he replied, smilingly ; "neither do I wish to. The 
road to hell is downward, and we are like the avalanche on its 
way down a snowy mountain." 

He was a queer old man who spoke thus. 



58 



The Spring Election. 



BY A NON-PARTISAN OBSERVER. 




POLITICAL promises are again in bloom. Muni- 
cipal platforms are in course of construction before 
A^ '^(^J rvijj our eyes, springing up like the "flowers that bloom 
m the sprmg." Shortly these platforms will crum- 
ble to dust. They are short-lived, unreal — in short, 
not much more than stepping stones for the can- 
didate seeking to climb into the "band wagon." 
As philosophical studies they are interesting, as 
they show the opinions of their authors as to the best means of 
gaining public favor. As declarations of principles they long 
since became the laughing stock of the initiated. These utter- 
ances of office-seekers and politicians seeking "spoils" constitute 
the "boiled down" hypocrisy of our days. At their best, they are 
empty phrases catering to the drift of public opinion. They are 
traps to catch votes in. No one believes in their sincerity, least 
of all those who beget them, unless they be fanatics, socialists or 
"plain citizens." 

At every election the cry of "reform" is raised. Civil ser- 
vice rules are lauded, while we oust from office the men charged 
with their enforcement. The great, inert mass of voters is led 
by the i)olitician who "howls" the loudest or by the partisan 
press which excels in absurdities. Another repetition of the 
spectacle is near at hand, and before it we shall not be the wiser 
for our experience in the past. We are never inclined to leave 
well enough alone, but must cry for something not as good — 
great, dissatisfied children that we are. But we must deal with 
these jilatforms as they are given us. 



59 

On the Democratic side far reaching reforms are promised — 
reforms that run ahead of the times, even if they be steps in the 
right direction. The municipal platform of the Bryan Associa- 
tion protests against corporations seeking to control public 
functions and tempting public officials with bribes. Who of the 
public men of the Republican party does not likewise ? Can it 
appear more than an empty phrase for them to repeat, in the 
words of that platform — "and we demand that as speedily as possi- 
ble, under the law, and with full recognition of every just inter- 
est, the city government of Cleveland resume all its legitimate 
functions?" Does not the present city government war unceas- 
ingly against corporate greed? Is there not an honest difference 
of opinion as to the scope of these legitimate functions? 

The demands of the Bryan Association are quoted in full : 

1. No extension of city franchises to be granted. All appli- 
ances occupying streets to be constructed, owned and operated 
by the city. The present street railways to become city property 
at the expiration of their franchises and as much sooner as the 
laws can be passed enabling the city to take possession of them. 

2. The submission to a vote of the people at the next regu- 
lar election of the question : "Shall the city acquire and operate its 
lighting plants, gas and electric ?" And, if it be carried in the 
affirmative, immediate steps to be taken to appropriate existing 
lighting plants for public use or to build new ones as may seem 
best. 

3. City contracts to be limited to the purchase of materials. 
Labor upon public works of whatever character to be employed 
directly by the city. 

4. Admission to the public service to be by free competition 
open on equal terms to all citizens, irrespective of party affilia- 
tions. 

Many good citizens object to the ownership of the street rail- 
ways by the city, although fewer are averse to the consummation 
of the rest of these requirements. A better system of taxation is 



6o 

probably of greater importance at the present time than either of 
the measures above proposed. Our financial condition would 
scarcely warrant the appropriations suggested, be they ever so 
much desirable. 

One of the foremost of our public-spirited citizens, Mr. John 
Farlc}^, recommends the strictest economy in city affairs. His 
mind is of the conservative order, but nevertheless broad and 
better adapted to grasping a situation in its entirety than the 
minds of many others of our public men. The low rate of taxa- 
tion heretofore prevailing is, according to his view, the funda- 
mental reason of the rapid growth and general prosperity of our 
city. He is opposed to the growth of artificial improvements ; 
and illustrates his meaning by comparing the public debt of 
Cleveland with that of Cincinnati, which is not quite sixteen 
million dollars greater than ours. As a purely manufacturing 
town, he says, low taxation is essential to our prosperity. The 
suburban railroads will create new conditions which must be met, 
for the manufacturers are apt to remove their plants beyond the 
city limits to where taxes are low. 

He laughs at the fifty-year franchise contention, and says 
that he never yet has heard of a man who favors the extension — 
not even a councilman. His enemies in his own camp (not tent) 
describe him as a friend of the street railroad monopolies, which, 
they claim, had an interest in the make-up of the Blee cabinet. 
At this writing it is claimed that he will be the nominee of 
the Democratic party for mayor — and yet he can hardly be con- 
sidered as the man of the hour, which demands a more progres- 
sive mind than he possesses. 

Fully in sjmipathy with the platform of the Bryan Associa- 
tion and an avowed candidate for mayor is Mr. John I. Nunn. 
His record as a councilman is clean. He is a man of energy, 
industrious, well-meaning, capable. The street railroad com- 
panies are his uncompromising enemies, giving him no quarter. 
The single fact that they are counted as factors in dealing with 



6i 

city affairs is proof in itself that these monsters are omnipresent 
and all-devouring. It is said among Republican politicians that 
Nunn and Farley have entered into a compact, but the reader 
may judge for himself as to the possible truthfulness of such a 
statement, having observed the wide difference of opinion 
between the two men on public matters. 

The newspapers have announced still another candidate for 
the mayoralty. He is Mr. J. D. Bremer, an insurance agent with 
offices in the Arcade. His name has never been prominently 
before the public, but it must be presumed that he enjoys the 
same right to announce his candidacy for mayor as any othei 
respectable citizen. 

Then there is Mr. E. R. Edson, member of a fishmonger's 
firm, who aspires to mount upon the Bryan platform to the 
honors of the chief magistracy of Cleveland. 

Ex-Sherifif W. R. Ryan must also be mentioned, although he 

seems not very active in forwarding his candidacy. He stands 

ready, however, to answer the call of the people. His party 

regards him as a man of weight, and he is believed by many to 

be a shrewd politician. Whole-souled, one might describe him as 

being, but it is questionable whether the qualities, which go to 

the making of a good sheriff, are the same as those required in 

the municipal chair. 

A NEW FLOWER. 

An off-spring of the present campaign is the Municipal Asso- 
ciation. Within a certain sphere, highly respected citizens are 
at the association's helm, and yet its motives were from the first 
regarded as selfish and lacking in sincerity. It was assumed that 
within it the friends of street railroad monopoly and the enemies 
of the present mayor combined to defeac the latter and assist the 
former in their efforts to obtain fifty-year franchises, through a 
new and willing city council. These charges, or assumptions if 
you will, were of course vigorously combatted, and the announce- 
ment was made that the association's aims were to expose bad 



62 

methods in administration, and to make public the records of the 
different candidates for city offices. 

So far as the members are honest in these purposes, no ob- 
jection can be raised. Ikit is the association, as a body, honest? 
A close observer must notice that someone, or some body of 
men, is furnishing funds for the maintenance of the establish- 
ment in the Arcade, to provide a salary for the secretary and 
another for his assistant. The dues being but one dollar per 
year, at least 3,000 members are required to meet expenses — and 
this number is yet far from the reach of the association. Then, 
the association's expenses for stationery and printing are high, 
much of both being required. Citizens who open their purses 
for the benefit of the city voluntarily are scarce as those sought 
by Diogenes with his lantern. It is therefore only natural that 
the object of the formation of this association should be looked 
for with some curiosity. 

A clue is found in the utterances of a few of its charter mem- 
bers. At the initial meetings of the association Mayor McKisson 
was bitterly denounced, his methods attacked, his honoi ques- 
tioned. A few meetings were followed by silence, this led to the 
popular surmise that the association existed for the purposes de- 
scribed in the first paragraph herein. The association has 
certainly made a mistake in its free denunciation, and, notwith- 
standing whatever it may in the future attempt, it can never 
obliterate the first impression made by it upon the minds of 
citizens at large. Another reason for suspicion is the circum- 
stance that the movement was inaugurated by a cotery of friends 
of M. A. Hanna. From this it was observed that the creation of 
the association sprang not from a general desire to place a watch 
upon political affairs. Nothing, of course, could be more desirable 
than such a citizens' court of justice, were justice dealt by it im- 
partially and vigorously. This (who can gainsay it?j nuist be be- 
yond the power and against the wish of men whose partiality is to 
be considered from the start as an assured fact. A large number of 



63 

reputable citizens joined the movement at the time of organiza- 
tion, among them the labor leaders, who were present at the 
meetings and shook hands with their "natural foes," the rich, 
prompted by the laudable desire to elevate local politics from the 
mire into which they have been sinking for years past until they 
are so deep that extrication grows daily more doubtful. 

Another society which has become prominent in the present 
campaign is the Mohawk Club. The name is appropriate, and 
its members wield the club and tomahawk vigorously. Its 
friends, thus far, seem to be disappointed politicians, the thrown 
champions of the "spoils" system, a few honest men in bad 
company, the wire-pullers and the worn out office-seekers of the 
Republican party. While the Democratic associations have at 
least the courage of their convictions and are engaged in putting 
forth the principles of far-reaching doctrine, these clubmen rally 
around a candidate who is shy of uttering his views upon muni- 
cipal matters and withholds them for future commitment ta 
writing. It is therefore impossible, at this writing, to make 
known to the citizens of Cleveland the name and location of the 
pedestal from which Mr. David Morison is likely to fall. Pre- 
sumably, he is a "nice" man and an honest one, but certainly not 
a strong man. His nearest political surroundings are bad, 
although his past record is without a flaw. It can not be denied 
that he has done good service as councilman, State senator and 
director of charities under Mayor Rose. 

It must be remembered that the pressure brought to bear 
upon a newly-elected mayor, by those who have been instru- 
mental in securing his election, is something terrific. The 
simple fact that Mr. Morison refrained from giving the news- 
papers his views upon municipal matters, when asked, led 
naturally to the conclusion that his platform would be constructed 
after consultation with those elements, and that they would claim 
the patronage which he might have had to bestow. 



64 

Old time politics are out of style nowadays, when men have 
at length learned to fight openly and fearlessly for their political 
and social convictions. Has Mr. Morison learned nothing from 
the view through his office window, which looked out upon the 
Square all through the fall campaign ? 

Mr. Morison is comparatively a young man, and is good look- 
ing, withal. His features are regular, but there is an imprint of 
energy in the well-rounded lines of his chin. He bears a general 
resemblance to Senator Hill, and no doubt possesses something 
of the craftiness of that noted politician. 

The announcement of Mr. Morison's candicacy created little 
stir. It appeared as if well known politicians of long standing 
were no longer w^anted. The old methods have been discarded, 
and can no longer be resorted to. "New j^blood" is apparently 
more favored. 

Mr. Morison was the candidate of the "working" Republicans 
of the old school. They united upon him when in council 
assembled. A standard bearer was needed — only one, for the 
forces must be held well together. He was announced as thecan- 
'didate of the workingmen, and the passage of his bill for the 
inspection of boilers was emphasized in that connection. That 
such a bill should be passed was natural. It was a good measure, 
and the law was much needed. Let not his merits be curtailed ; 
at best, can it be said that they signify his fitness for the <. fficehe 
seeks? Under his administration, as under others, ?poil l.unteis 
would be wide-awake, eager for the morsels in sight. Would a 
"machine" built by him be less irksome than the existing one? 
Would it please the working men ? 

I was never able to take "au serieux" the candidacy of 
Dan Reynolds, Jr., for the office of mayor. Somehow or other 
his announcement failed to impress me as genuine. There was a 
laxity of action in regard to it that was contrary to that energetic 
councilman's nature. I was not surprised, therefore, to hear 
the opinion expressed that "Dan" was at heart in sympathy with 



66 

the administration of Mayor McKisson, whose activity would 
naturally be pleasing to his own disposition. True, Mr. Reynolds 
has said bitter things concerning the mayor, but, it is claimed, he 
had never forgiven himself for not coming forward as a candidate 
two years ago. There may therefore have been an element of 
jealousy in his antagonism to the mayor which may be easily un- 
derstood. Councilman Reynolds is a man of ability. He is also a 
gifted and forcible talker — orator, I might say. His views upon 
municipal affairs are of the conservative order. If he is in sym- 
pathy with the workingmen, he is none the less inclined to give 
the street railroad companies their dues. Under existing cir- 
cumstances this is no more than just. He is in favor of public 
improvements, but insists that the socialistic proposition that 
direct ownership by the city of semi-public institutions is, in view 
of financial conditions, beyond our reach. Though well known 
and well liked, it is remarkable that he has never succeeded in 
establishing a "following." His leadership hardly extends be- 
yond the council, and even there he sometimes seems to stand 
abandoned, like the lonely northern pine, dark, weary and strong. 

A candidate of some consequence was Dr. F. W. Waltz, for, 
though seldom successful in politics, he enjoyes a strong support 
from the west side of the river. The doctor's friends are numer- 
ous and active. He is liked for his outspoken and aggressive 
habits. His views upon men and things are broad and liberal, 
and that he understands the spirit of the times may be observed 
in his published manifesto. He, like John I. Nunn, is of German 
parentage, and like Nunn, possesses the honesty of purpose 
which distinguishes that nationality. His promise not to run for 
a second term, if elected this time, demonstrated that he has 
inherited some of the German idealistic character. 

Little need be said of Mayor McKi.sson. He and his record 
stand out in bold relief. He was judged by his record, and 
his greatest danger lay in his being misjudged by voters who 
have only a superficial knowledge of municipal affairs, and some 



67 

of whom may have been misled by the promulgators of the foolish 
"cold lead" war cry. Such a designation would have been in- 
genious, could it truthfully and fittingly be applied to the mayor's 
action during the lamented Brown strike. As chief magistrate of 
the city the mayor was reluctant to take severe measures to re- 
store order in the city. From day to day he hoped that the prob- 
lem might have a peaceful solution, while he labored faithfully to 
arrive at an understanding with the men who had power to bridge 
the difficulties. In the meantime the strikers attacked the 
"scabs" or non-union workingmen — chiefly poor devils who, like 
themselves, were dependent for a livelihood upon their daily 
labors. No justification has j^et been discovered for the action of 
a man who seeks to forcibly prevent another from seeking work 
merely because a state of war exists between an employer and 
his men. I favor labor unions because they form a bulwark 
against the encroachments of ever greedy capital. "Without this 
bar, the dignity of workingmen would sink deeper beneath the 
heel of oppression than now. But in open warfare, it must be 
remembered that brute force fights against brute force. The 
question of right or wrong no longer enters into the contest. At 
this point the authorities of law are in duty bound to step in and 
restore order in the shortest possible time. This was not done, 
and yet Mayor McKisson was bitterly attacked by the very men 
toward whom he showed the utmost of patience and consideration. 
He had no love for the other side, for they hr.d none for him. 

To an unbiased mind it must seem that the mayor was un- 
justly criticised in the matter. He could neither remain idle nor 
indifferent, nor could he install the strikers as guardians of the 
peace, they being interested in the dispute. I might have re- 
joiced, in the wickedness of my heart, at the destruction of that 
factory, but I could not but deplore the excesses between work- 
men and workmen. The non union men were on the defensive ; 
their lives were in jeopardy. Who could blame them for arming 
themselves ? 



68 

Keen-sighted workingmen have long since learned that the 
period of strikes has outlived itself; that the betterment of the 
poor man's condition lies in the education of the masses. In 
this connection I wish to say that knowledge is being rapidly dis- 
seminated among the people. The dawn of a better day is al- 
ready visible. 

I venture to prophesj' that the very men who were loudest in 
their denunciation of Mayor McKisson will, if ever given a 
chance, act in the same way as did he. It is one thing to 
harangue the people from the speaker's stand on the square as a 
free American citizen, and quite another to please everyone in 
the municipal chair in the City Hall. 

OTHER CANDIDATES. 

A most honorable man, careful in his business methods and 
always awake to the interests of the people, is City Treasurer 
Charles W. Chase. As a gentleman he does not covet publicity, 
wherefore little is known of him by citizens in general. He is 
well liked at the City Hall. Not long ago a quiet little act of his, 
showing the man in a very favorable light, leaked out. The city 
treasurer is habitually made the custodian of unemployed moneys 
belonging to the various pension funds. Former treasurers have 
never bothered about depositing such funds, or, if they did so, 
they were never returned with interest. In this case, however 
Mr. Chase paid into that pension fund the neat extra sum of $800. 
An act unprecedented in the city treasury. Opposition to him in 
his own camp was made by Mr. A. J. Esch, formerly supervisor 
of the German department of our public schools, but who was 
defeated at the primaries. 

In contrast to the treasurer's department stands the Police 
Court, whose judge and prosecutor are always more or less ex- 
posed to public criticism. Both officials have much business 
with police officers, a body of men composed of Democrats and 
Republicans of various shades and inclined to be fault-finding. 



69 

Then there is the dear public itself, a conglomeration of all 
sorts of "isms." Common-sense and a honest wish to be just are 
the main requirements of the two positions referred to. No 
amount of legal learning could compensate for a lack of one or 
both these qualities. 

Judge William F. Fiedler has advanced in public estimation 
since the people have become acquainted with his methods of 
dealing with culprits. His idea of justice is not rigid and merci- 
less, not bound by the letter of the law, but it is humane and fol- 
lows the spirit of the law, as judicial ideas should do. A failure 
upon the police bench is a narrow-minded judge. The people of 
Cleveland will call Judge Fiedler once more to the bench, for it 
can not be presumed that the Democratic party will nominate 
to-day as a candidate for police judge a better man than two years 
ago. Neither could it nominate a better man for prosecutor than 
Thomas M. Kennedy, who is a brilliant lawyer, a wit, and a gen- 
tleman who, if less dignified than the judge, is a whole-souled 
and good-hearted fellow. Between judge and prosecutor the cul- 
prit is never in an enviable position, take it as you will. Thus 
far, no opposition to these two officials exists within the Repul)- 
lican party. Their Democratic opponents have not yet an- 
nounced themselves. 

* * 

Since the foregoing reflections were written the primary elec- 
tion of the Republican party has been held. Mr. Morrison's 
defeat by Mayor McKisson was a signal one and was in keeping 
with the view of the writer upon the attitude of the people con- 
cerning the candidacy of the favorite of the old machine politi- 
cians. There is no candidate upon the Democratic side who 
ought, at this time to be preferred to the present mayor. I trust 
to the business sense of our citizens, and am therefore safe in 
predicting the re-election of a man as progressive as Mayor Mc- 
Kisson without rendering myself liable to a .suspicion of partizan- 
ship. I deal with facts, not sentiments. 



70 

The Republican ticket stands as follows: 

For Mayor, 

Robert E. McKisson. 

For Cit}' Treasurer, 

Charles W. Chase. 

For Police Judge, 
William F. Fiedler. 
For Police Prosecutor, 
Thomas M. Kennedy. 
For Police Court Cleric, 
A. B. HONECKER. 
For Members of the School Council, 

Thomas Boutall. 
Martin House. 
Fred C. Elmer. 
F. A. Kendall. 

For Members of the City Council, 

First District— D. B. Steuer. 

Second District — Robert BailEY. 

Third District— H. M. Case. 

Fourth District — George H. Billman. 

Filth District— C. A. Witzel. 

Sixth District— C. W. Toland. 

Seventh District — W. R. Hopkins. 

Eighth District— I. H. A. Jones. 

Ninth District — David H. Lucas. 

Tenth District— W. H. Lucas. 

Eleventh District — F. F. Klingman. 

Constables, 

W. H. Hudson. 

George Schaufele. 

Truman C. Peck. 

G. F. Ridge WAY. 

George W. Jones. 

Will S. White. 

Fred R. Bell. 



71 

A remarkable contest was made in opposition to the candi- 
dacy of A. B. Honecker by Julius Blasis. The voters, however, 
following civil service rules, preferred the candidacy of Mr. Hon- 
ecker, whose long experience in Police Court matters would 
appear an unanswerable argument in his favor. Mr. Honecker 
is, beside, a pleasant and agreeable gentleman. 

Much interest was deservedly taken in the contest for mem- 
bership in the School Council. Mrs. Avery was defeated by Mr. 
F. A. Kendall, a political gentleman of the East End. It is to be 
regretted in this connection that Mr, Walter Jacobi went under 
at the same time, as he is a man eminently fitted by training and 
experience for a seat in the educational board. He deserved a 
nomination, and it is to be hoped that he will again come before 
the Republican voters as a candidate for that position. Messrs. 
House and Boutall are men of experience in school matters who 
should and will be re-elected. Their earnest desire to simplify 
the present cumbersome course of study, among other things, has 
brought upon them the wrath of Director Sargent, whose secre- 
tary is said to have labored for their defeat at the primaries. The 
director himself innocently washes his hands of this transaction, 
like a Pontius Pilate. Mr. Fred C. Elmer is also experienced in 
school affairs, he having formerly served on the board. His 
candidacy will receive the support of many good citizens. 

All the candidates for membership in the City Council have 
pledged themselves in letters addressed to the newspapers to op- 
pose the fifty year franchise "grab," and to advocate municipal 
ownership of street railroads and lighting plants under a proper 
civil service system. They have expressed themselves as favoring 
progress according to the best wisdom of the present times on 
municipal matters. As was remarked in the introduction to this 
article the Republican candidates, so far as municipal matters are 
concerned, stand upon practically the same platform as their 
Democratic brethren. 



72 

Of a piece with the straggling mob which slouched through 
our streets during the closing days of the Fall campaign of 1896, 
and which was known as a procession of Bryan supporters, was 
the proceeding which has now resulted in the choice of John 
Farley as the Democratic nominee for mayor of Cleveland. On 
both occasions the city was disgraced, as it was never disgraced 
before, by the drunkenness, carelessness, noisiness and quarrels 
of the participants. 

The night of Thursday, March 11, had been fixed upon as 
the date of the Democratic primary election. The most favor- 
able reports printed concerning the scenes of debauchery, both 
of person and of the law, which that night witnessed, would be 
enough to condemn the existing partisan system. I refrain from 
particularizing. The subject is a painful one, to say the least. 

John Farley, who gave moral support to the "Gold Demo- 
crats" in the last election, and who is rated as a su])porter of 
Brice with all that term implies, yet, who is said to have contrib- 
uted liberally to the regular Democratic (Bryan) campaign fund, 
was an easy winner in the convention held two days after the 
primaries. The opposition might easily have won, but, being 
divided among a half dozen candidates, it lost much support 
which would hav^e been thrown to a single opponent to Farley. 
As it was, the half dozen opposition candidates divided nearly 
enough votes to beat the "Boss," and but one cut a presentable 
figure in the contest. 

The nominations made were of the typical character of 
Democratic candidates in late years. The nominees, as a rule, 
are of the class of perennial candidates. Comparison of the 
Democratic list with that of the Republican candidates given 
above, will be a sufficient guide to voters who seek to be informed 
upon the worthiness of those for whom they vote. 




73 



County Court House. 

'HE old, gray structure, often remodeled, enlarged 
and rehabilitated, which stands at the northwest 
corner of the Square, and its companion piece of 
architecture next west of it, representing the govern- 
mental trinity — citj', county and State — are fast 
becoming historical in interest. Practically, if not 
legally, the county has no existence separate from 
Q) the State of which it is merely a geographical 
division. The county court house, therefore, contains the State's 
eflfective machinery for this division. 

I have often contemplated with a degree of apprehension, 
the really vital aspect of the courts' functions. When all is said, 
it must finally be admitted that the success or failure of represen- 
tative government rests in the hands of the magistrates. Legis- 
lature, executive, the military force which is the effective arm of 
the executive, individuals and corporations — all are controllable 
by the judiciary — the movement of each and every one of them 
may be stayed or sometimes coerced by the courts. Their 
power is next to absolute — if exercised with wisdom and discre- 
tion they will prove a solid rock ioundation for our institutions ; 
otherwise, our destruction. 

Thus far we are fortunate. In fairness, wisdom and honor our 
common pleas and circuit courts have occupied a plane a step 
higher than our neighbors. Hamilton's decisions are valued 
scarcely less than those of the supreme tribunal. Noble's clear 
cut discrimination, sensitive regard for moral right, and conserva- 
tive habit have more than local recognition. Lamson — a trifle 
indolent, perhaps, but of vigorous mentality when aroused; 
Stone, with unlimited power for work and conscientious to a 
fault; Neff, fast winning his way to the front rank of judges; 



74 

Delleiibaugh, standing in the clear light of a perfect judicial 
reputation, and re-elected upon its strength; Ong, Logue and Dis- 
sette as yet scarcely tried, but universally respected — plain citi- 
zens certainly are safe in leaving their liberties in such hands. 
Our circuit court is rarely reversed — and when it is, depend upon 
it the supreme court is wrong — which is as much as a non-profes- 
sional observer can safely venture to say in regard to Judges 
Caldwell, Marvin and Hale, who deal chiefly in dry, legal propo- 
sitions which I, for one, cannot follow without a guide. 

Fiat justitia ! They are honorable men above stairs in the 
old court house. I often wonder whether they know of all that 
is going on below. 

Then over in the "new" courthouse, within that monument 
to architectural pride and administrative incapacity which of late 
is in process of remodeling, preparatory, if the signs indicate 
anything, to demolition and rebuilding -there will be found our 
probate court and insolvency court. An immense amount of 
work was formerly performed by our probate judge under the 
fee system, and occasionally complaint was made that his duties 
were too arduous. Attorneys complained over delays and loss of 
time. Citizens objected to being kept waiting. Judge White 
struggled under a load of official duty which, report has it, was 
profitable if difficult. To meet the situation the judge was given 
a certain salary and deprived of fees and the insolvency court 
was established. The change is as yet in an experimental state. 
As insolvency judge merely Judge Bloch will scarcely have a fair 
opportunity to earn the $2,000 salary allowed him by the legis- 
lature. The probate judge may provide him with employment by 
referring probate court cases to him, and so long as the two work 
harmoniously the public may gain by the move. But it would 
appear to an unprejudiced observer that a division of labor of this 
kind must be a difficult matter to arrange to mutual satisfaction 
of the laborers. However, it will hardly be worth my while to 
prophesy the future. 



75 
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 

The governmental trinity is aptly represented upon the 
board of County Commissioners. Captain E. J. Kennedy, as an 
ex-member of the general assembly, a former member of the 
board of pardons and of long experience in the affairs of state 
generally, may be considered as the representative of the com- 
monwealth of Ohio. Farmer George Bennett, who brought into 
the court house the undoubtable scent of new mown hay upon his 
election to office, represents the country constituent. Dave 
Brown, a Clevelander with all that term implies, a politician by 
nature, a gentleman endowed with the ideal urban uncertainty as 
to whether to progress or retrogress, a good liver and thoroughly 
"citified," represents the municipality. z 

Three men control the county's purse. Stories are told of 
favoritism, evasion of the people's safeguards, unwise expenditure 
of funds and the like, from time to ^ime. The clues found by the 
newspapers are followed to the end, then dropped. The voting 
populace forgets them, or, having no positive information of the 
truth of charges, neglects them. The County Commissioners 
work in a labyrinth, so far as the general public is concerned, and 
their wisdom is more often questioned than their honesty. Be- 
tween them and the city there is no quarrel. The city contains 
ninetenths of the voting population of the county, and the 
County Commissioners as a rule perform the city's bidding. They 
are not legislators, but purely business agents. They draw their 
salaries regularly, keep their political "fences" in neat repair, do 
nothing which they are not in one way or another compelled to 
do and attract little attention from the public. 

The County Treasurer's office has been credited for some 
time with undue interest in city affairs. Treasurer Hubbard is 
politically associated with one of the coteries of old-time politi- 
cians who were known in its heyday as the "court house ring." 
This partnership was known to have been formed for the purpose 



76 

of perpetuating in office certain men, who, without regard for 
their fitness for office, were considered able "wire-pullers." 
They formed an offensive and defensive alliance for the protec- 
tion of their mutual interests, and those of certain outsiders who, 
if not regaled with the spoils of office, seemed none the less at- 
tached to the "ring." No one supposed them to be entirely 
disinterested, and the danger to the public generallj^ of such an 
alliance tended somewhat to weaken the members before the 
voters. An attempt was made early in the present city adminis- 
tration, to extend the powers of this alliance from the Court House 
to the City Hall. The attempt failed. After the "ring" vhad se- 
cured the appointment of one of its adherents to a city cabinet 
position, the mayor's eyes were opened. The removal of the cab- 
inent member followed, and war upon the administration was de- 
clared by the "ring." 

Our faith in our form of government is weakened, sometimes, 
b}' the discovery of intrigues of this nature. Fortunately, we are 
no worse than our neighbors. The difference lies in the fact that 
while, in time, intrigues against the public are di.scovered and ad- 
vertised in America, worse alliances, more oppressive in their ten- 
denc}', are succesefully kept from public view in the old world. 




77 



X-Rays 



TURNED UPON OUR PUBLIC MEN AND WELL 
KNOWN CITIZENS. 




politics. 



ARK HANNA enjoys a good dinner, a good joke 

and a good play. If he digests well and sleeps 

well he must be a happy mortal. The thorn in 

his flesh, however, is implanted by his fondness for 

Thus it is that no man can enjoy life perfectly. 






Myron T. Herrick somewhat resembles an Indian in feature 

and stature. His lean and wiry figure is the picture of health 

and activity. He is a courteous and pleasant gentleman. More 

valuable still is his reputation as an honest man and a true man 

— true as an Indian with whom one has once smoked the calumet 

of peace. 

* * * 

Colonel Brinsmade's travels in the old world have brought 
to him a reputation as a pleasant and agreeable letter writer. 
They have also cured him of some of his Yankee prejudices — a 
fact which he has not, however, publicly acknowledged. It 
would not have been fashionable. 



"The peach" of Cleveland enjoys rightfully the honor oi 
being a gifted and mighty orator. That there are few designs in 
his mental make-up becomes apparent as soon as he broaches 
politics. His spread-eagle talk comes not from the lofty height 
of a great mind, but rather resembles the croak of a raven in a 
tree. 



78 

Probate Judge White is a true benefactor of the poor, for he 
has a heart of gold and a hberal hand. That heart never feels a 
pang when the hand is led by it to alleviate the sufferiug of a 
poor widow or feeble old man. As a judge his long experience 
has made him a man of much wisdom. 

John D. Rockefeller is rich not only in property but also as 
pater-familias. His family gatherings in his beautiful summer 
home are more pleasant to behold than the grandes fetes of his 
confreres in New York. Truly, the Creator has lavished an entire 
cornucopia upon this man. 

Sometimes in the course of a lifetime a man is forced into a 
false position and remains there- Such is L. E. Holden's experi- 
ence. He fell first into the Democratic camp, thence strayed to 
the Popocratic stronghold. He never was really and truly at 
home in either. His appropriate place is in the pulpit. 

* * * 

Dr. C. B. Parker is a humanitarian with sure eye and steady 
hand. He cuts not to wound, but to heal. His knowledge of 
the humane in the human is as great as that of the human in the 
humane. As a great surgeon the X-rays reveal to him little more 
than the friendly rays of his own clear vision. 

Something about Senator Elro}' M. Avery there is which 
reminds me of a big, uncouth schoolboy of roughly hewn feat- 
ures. His professed Americanism is subject to doubt, for it lacks 
breadth, universality, generosity, in short, all those qualities which 
make the American the most modern and the foremost represen- 
tative of the race. 



79 

A smile upon General Ed. S. Meyer's face is rare as a sun- 
beam upon a cloudy day. Yet, his inner life must be all sunshine 
and security, for he not only strives to do his duty in all things, 
but he does it. A higher compliment can be paid to no man. 



Ex-Judge Conway W. Noble's conception of justice ennobled 
the bench upon which he sat. He was stern as the Jehovah of 
the Old Testament, for whose tender mercies we must look to 
the Son. 

Ex-Congressman W. J. White has not lost his quiet and 
modest dignity since "Heaven gave him riches." This fact 
proves conclusively that he is not only a wi.se man, according to 
Shakespeare, but also a man good at heart. 



Professor Olney's knowledge of true works of art is ques- 
tioned by some of our local painters. The reason is obvious, but 
of late the good professor has become very partial to religious 
subjects in the art world. 





THE DIRECTOR. 



8i 



Our Public Schools. 




Y7 T is said that the public schools of 
our city suffer under what may be 
termed the Draper system. Judge 
^JLS Draper, the late superintendent, was 
a man of showy inclinations, a lawyer 
and a politician. Accustomed to deal- 
ing with men, he failed to compre- 
hend children or understand their 
wants. His abruptness of manner 
and haughtiness toward the teachers 
were not inspiring. But his greater sin was in the inculcation of 
a "system" of education, and we are now reaping the whirlwind 
for the "wind" he sowed. 

A sigh of relief from the teachers signalized his departure 
from our city, and the instructors returned to their duties with 
renewed pleasure and more love for them under the guidance of 
a large-hearted gentleman and gifted educator. Granted that 
Superintendent Jones has not yet been able to realize his ideals in 
the management of the educational portion of our schools, it must 
be owing to the legacy left by his predecessor. Even as a trustee 
of this weighty inheritance, his duties to the public are para- 
mount to all other obligations. Director Sargent must be, and 
no doubt is, aware of this. Naturally, changes in the course of 
study are not to be lightly taken up, and making such altera- 
tions is surrounded with peculiar difficulties. The school council 
is to be contended with ; likewise the omniscient citizen who 
"knows it all ; " last but not least is the latent opposition of the 
hard-working teachers who, having at length worn a tolerabl}^ 
smooth rut in the rugged road laid out by Judge Draper, are dis- 
inclined to leave it. The demand for a change is, at this time. 



82 



almost universal. The burdensome system, with its plethora of 
sounding titles and barrenness of results has become an object of 

hatred. Especially are laughter, 
ridicule and hissing leveled at the 
science work in the lower grades. 
The irony of it lies in the fact 
,"^ that no more scientific work is ac- 
tually performed in these grades 
than in a reading lesson in any well- 
conducted, modern country school. 
Judge Draper's conception of the 
thing was that it should be pro- 
vided with a name, a nice name, 
one that would ?ound well the coun- 
try over. It may be true that some 
of the over-zealous teachers over- 
stepped the mark in sending their 
pupils to the woods in quest of leaf- 
lets, beetles or frogs — but now the high-sounding title of Science 
Work comes back to us — with a vengeance. 

Recently the text-book committee of the School Council re- 
quested Mr. Jones to furnish a list of studies, to be mailed to per- 
sons in the city who are interested in school work. Mark the 
rule ! The omniscient citizen was to be again called upon. The 
council desires to inquire of the blacksmith as to the best process 
for making coats, of the tailor craves information as to lock-mak- 
ing. Why not leave the entiie matter of reforming the course of 
study to the superintendent ? Why not go to the teachers for in- 
formation upon school matters ? 

Even a college professor is not always the best person to ap- 
peal to in matters of primary instruction. The practical teachers, 
breaking down under the weight of the new, top-heavy course of 
instruction, as Superintendent Jones himself admits, are com- 
pletely ignored. Nobody consults them, who assuredly are best 




83 



informed on the subject. They have no voice in affairs inti- 
mately concerning their own and their pupils' welfare. 

Mr. Jones very properly opposed the proposition of the text- 
book committee in reference to science studies in the lower grades, 
and substituted as his own idea, a series of lectures. He could 
hardly have done better. As men and women of intelligence, the 
members of our school council should be magnanimous enough 
to give Mr. Jones a free hand. The duty of providing a course 
of study is vested in Mr. Jones' office by the school laws. The 
authority of the school council extends only to their approving 
or not the plan submitted them by the superintendent. 

The Draper system not only drew its deadly coil about the 
lower grades, but embraced the high schools also. In a certain 
measure, at least, the high schools have become intellectually 
bankrupt universities. Boys and girls of fourteen or fifteen, too 
young to know their own minds, are free to choose of three or 
four studies, like college students, and for a school year pursue 
those studies to the detri- 
ment of a uniform mental and 
moral development. They are 
over-loaded with sameness in 
study, and consequently ig- 
norant of that wider knowl- 
edge which produces broad- 
minded, cultured men and 
women. The system of teach- 
ing in our high schools has 
dwindled into a series of reci- 
tations, the juste 7nilieu of 
guidance and rehearsal being 
lost. 

The portly volume con- 
taining the annual report of Judge Draper reads like the catalogue 
of a university. It exhibits a splendid list of scientific nomen- 




':\\\\^\#Mv\^,^, 



84 



clature, and doubtless the world at large has a very good opinion 
of our public school system. But we, here at home, know some- 
thing of the practical operation of the machinery, and that our 

children know as little 
or as much as the youth 
of less "favored" cities. 
They certainly know 
not an iota more, but 
they have come to un- 
derstand that their 
teachers occupy a plane 
much bentath the pom- 
pous superintendent of 
a few years ago. Is it 
any wonder that Mr. 
Jones refers to-day to 
the inability of many 
teachers to maintain or- 
der in school and to 
teach at the same time? Doubtless it is true that the classes 
are too large. It is also a fact that the authority of the teachers 
over their jDupils has suffeied to a lamentable extent through the 
tyrannical manner in which the former superintendent ruled over 
them. Once broken, the spirit of independence rarely rises 

again. 

ANOTHER POINT. 

It is not within the scope of this article to investigate the 
relation of Director Sargent to the educational department of our 
schools. Suffice it, that he is often consulted in matters pertain- 
ing to the superintendent's department — perhaps too often. None 
the less, the people are satisfied with his administration as a whole, 
and I shall not enter into controversy with my fellow citizens 
over it. 




85 

Director Sargent has been censured for the maintenance of 
large classes in the schools. His watchword is "large classes" 
for econonty's sake. His intention is commendable, no doubt, 
and he may be forced to practice parsimony by existing circum- 
stances ; yet we ought to see to it that our public schools do not 
suffer for insufficiency of financial means. If director and school 
council are unable to provide necessary funds for the proper con- 
duct of our schools, I propose the creation of a school "park 
board," as a sure and certain remedy. 

It must not be supposed that disapproval of the course of 
study is universal among those who are versed in school affairs. 
There be school officials who ascribe the investigation into the 
present course to the ambition of members who hope for re-elec- 
tion this spring, and who found it necessary to attract the atten- 
tion of the voting populace to themselves. Such a political 
scheme is within the range of possibility, for it must be admitted 
that political infliTences are as dominant in our schools at the 
present as they were in former times. The federal plan could 
not change the natures of men who seek office ^ — it merely 
changed the system. And who will deny that Director Sargent, 
with the assistance of his little secretar}-, is a shrewd politician? 
His forces are strongly organized, and yet no cry of "machine" is 
raised. His working force is assessed at election time to pay a 
part of the campaign expenses. The director, of course, knows 
nothing of this ; his middlemen taking care of all reprehensible 
matters. Verily, a commodious institution is an interpreter of 
one's wishes. 

It spite of all, it cannot be justly charged that Mr. Sargent 
does not work for the interest of the schools. He has given 
many proofs of the fact that he has their welfare at heart. 
Neither does it follow that a good politician must be a bad busi- 
ness man. The contrary is more probably true, since the talent 
of organization is necessarily a part of the make-up of each. It 
is political "deals" that make politics especially obnoxious; that 



86 



often crowd good men out and push bad men into office. The 
"deals" cost the people's money. 

A bad and sad spectacle was offered in the last spring cam- 
paign, when three members of the school council were candidates 
for the directorship. Their names should be placed on record. 
Of course, it was said that Messrs. Downie and Backus had a 
perfect right to come before the people as candidates. They 
were free to expose their political aspirations, to remind us of the 
fact that office-seekers are occupying seats in the school council 
and that their attitude toward the schools was governed by selfish 
purposes. Think of the "deals !" But we must not be too severe, 
for we need public officials to do public work, and if good men 
are willing to sacrifice themselves I am the last to wish to throw 
stones at them. 

1 




87 



In the Playhouses. 



KING ARTHUR. 




At a recent rendition of 
"King Arthur" by Henry Irv- 
ing and Miss Ellen Terry, it 
was my fortune (or misfor- 
tune?) to find at my right 
elbow a gentleman of critical 
instincts. This loquacious gen- 
tleman (as he proved to be) 
interlarded the events of the 
play with a running fire of 
comment, accompanied by 
mild gestures, the objective 
point of the latter being my 
ribs. My attention, however, 
was held by the drama, rather than distracted by his criticisms 
and witticisms. 

The beautiful prologue, "Excalibur,'" was recited by Mr. 
Irving, and as I had not before heard him, the charm of his art- 
istic way of bringing out the beauty of every line, was fresh and 
pleasing. That man, I thought, knows the value of each word 
he utters and gives to each a wonderful coloring and shading. 

"He is surely not Irving, for I do not understand a single 
word of what he says," whispered my neighbor. 

"Perhaps you do not understand English," I answered. 
Before he could reply the Spirit of the Lake began her mys- 
tic sing-song, during the rendition of which my neighbor seemed 
to fall into a light slumber. He woke as the curtain fell. 



88 

"I suppose that song was from ' Fantasma,' " he said. 
"There was no need for their coming over from England to 
produce such a thing. They are too slow for us over there, 
anyway." 

I smiled and held my peace. The scene had been beautiful, 
poetic, entrancing. 

During the evening my neighbor found little to praise. He 
could not become reconciled to the diction of the actor, who, in 
pronouncing certain words, "twisted his mouth as if the sylla- 
bles were little sticks lying horizontally in his cavity of speech so 
that he could not spit them out," my neighbor said. 

Again, he said musingly: " His voice does not sound clear 
in a certain high pitch. He ought to l^low his nose." 

I doubt not that this terrible, crude critic had read some- 
thing of the sort in the newspapers, and had attempted to inter- 
pret what he read in his own strong language. Some shadow of 
truth lingered over his remarks, but not enongh to justify his 
onslaught upon a great and honored actor. 

A great actor ! 

"Why, my good man," my neighbor exclaimed, "Irving 
could have learned aheap from our departed Booth." 

Yet, the ' great, artistic repose of Irving reminded me of 
Booth, whom I last saw in "Hamlet" shortly before his retire- 
ment from the stage. Booth was then an old man. Irving, too, 
.seemed to me to be old (he is, in fact, well along in years), ap- 
pearing scarcely strong enough to stalk across the stage in heavy 
armor. I wondered how many years of toil, artistic strife and 
success are yet in store for him. Not many, I thought. 

He was called before the curtain by the prolonged applause 
of the audience, and sought to show his gratitude in a short 
speech. It was not only short, but it was a poor speech. The 
old knight stood with knees slightly bent, leaning heavily upon his 
sword. The dignity of his demeanor alone restrained the feeling 
of pity which filled my heart for this poor, great man. 



89 

But how well the part he played fitted his natural infirmities. 
King Arthur was no longer a young man at the time of "the 
passing of Arthur," but was one who declares : "I have lived my 
life." 

My neighbor was disgusted with the applause. He opined 
that the audience had paid so much for their seats that they were 
bound to make it appear that they derived immense enjoyment 
from the expenditure. "It is all show. They are deceiving 
themselves," was his uiifriendh- conclusion. 

Miss Ellen Terry as "Guenivere" found more favor in his 
eyes. To him she was the greater artist of the two. She cer- 
tainly was a beautiful queen ; tall, graceful as a young tree of the 
Whitethorn wood, sweet and lovely as a flower in May. Her 
guilty love for I^auncelot, sinful in the eyes of the world, was 
almost sanctified by the fragrance of her poetic nature. But 
who could imagine anything more lovely than the woodland 
scene in the second act? Is there a purer apparition than that of 
the queen in her bevy of young maidens? 

It is through its purity of motive, its Tennysonian poesy 
and through its representation and staging as conceived by Irv- 
ing that the drama of King Arthur becomes one of the noblest 
creations of art. These are the influences which arouse a cul- 
tured audience to enthusiasm, cause silk handkerchiefs to wave 
and kid gloves to be split. It matters little whether Irving is 
the greatest living English speaking actor or not. His interpre- 
tation of "King Arthur" was masterly enough to form a beautiful 
relief in the superb picture of the drama. 

My neighbor would not have it that wa3^ He declared the 
actors upon the stage as stiff as the knights in "Ivanhoe." He 
went so far as to suggest that they might be wax figures from 
Madame Tousseaut's museum in London, into which clock works 
had been inserted. The somewhat stately English stage man- 
nerisms were utterly foreign to his restless Americanism. He 
wished for the piquancy of a modern dramatic subject, the quick, 



90 

passionate pulsation of modern hearts, the gowns that, in hiding, 
expose the "new woman's" charms. In short, he wanted a 
French drama, and found to his displeasure a sweet, English 
poem, full of noble sentiments, lofty purpose and human failings, 
which may be forgiven because they are no part of a wicked 
nature, but belong to healthy beings with strength and virtue 
enough to atone and suffer for their waywardness. 

"IZEYL." 

The hypocris}^ of the age has produced a wonderful play, 
"Izeyl." Its production by Sara Bernhardt and her company at 
the Euclid Avenue Opera House was a revelation. It revealed 
to the audience a life-picture of Christ, an episode in which Mary 
Magdalen and John the Baptist play an important and interesting 
part. 

The plot of the piece : A temptation of Christ, concealed be- 
neath an accommodating date and the splendor of oriental luxury. 
The Son of God appears as fittingly as a powerful and beautiful 
prince, ignorant of the miseries of this world. 

John the Baptist, a fanatic of truth, enters. He reveals to 
the unsu.specting prince a world of woe, points out to him the 
vanity of terrestrial life and the grandeur of truth and eternit}-. 
The prince, a strong man, retires into the mountains to devote 
himself, henceforth, to the study of the great spiritual problems. 
He soon becomes famous as a moralist and a teacher. Under the 
branches of a great tree this beautiful, human Christ preaches a 
sermon on the mount to the multitude who flock to hear him. A 
amous courtesan, whom we will call Mary Magdalen, had defied 
John the Baptist to take her from the prince with whom she is in 
love, and wanders to the sacred spot, where the new gospel was 
preached to the astonished world. 

With all the charms of a beautiful woman, a mo.st splendid 
and lovely creature — an enamored Sara Bernhardt — this Mary 
Magdalen seeks to seduce the love of Christ to a human passion. 



91 

The temptation is more fascinating, more bewitching than that of 
the evil one in the desert. What are all the possessions of earth 
to a man whose kingdom is not of earth, against the soft and 
warm eternal life, pulsating in a masterpiece of the great Creator ? 
The struggle of the prince is great — really superhuman, yet he 
comes from it the victor; the purely spiritual conquers the 
wicked flesh. The woman, theretofore confident of success, not 
only ackowledges defeat, but becomes satisfied that her hopeless, 
carnal affection should be converted into a purer flame, such as 
Christendom demands of the true disciple of its teachings. In 
this conversion lies a world of poesy, the secret charm of the 
piece. 

Those who saw the slender, beautiful figure of Bernhardt 
twining itself about the strong prophet like the sinuous, bril- 
liantly-colored body of a snake trembled for the man. It was a 
terrible and a sublime moment. The siren's voice of the actress 
was irresistible in its pleading accents — onlj^ a god could with- 
stand such tender allurement. Who, under such circumstances, 
would have dared to blame even a hero for succumbing to the 
charms of this woman ? 

The result of the victory was as beautiful as the victory 
itself. It proved the spiritual salvation of a woman, the purifi- 
cation of a human body recognized as the habitation of an 
eternal soul. It matters little that this woman afterward com- 
mits the crime of murder. The act speaks to the spectator as a 
just punishment dealt out to a brute. The death blow is not 
only inflicted in self-defense and in the defense of woman's virtue, 
but further, to preserve the life of u. dear master. Was ever 
better excuse for murder ? 

Justice, to be sure, as we understand it, demands life for life. 
Izeyl must die to expiate her crime. The poor creature is slowly 
stoned to death at the hands of an ignoble mob which well repre- 
sents our semi-barbarian notion of just retribution. Here Sara 
Bernhardt's personality and her rare genius again excite our inter- 



92 

est in and pity for the suffering woman, who no longer fears 
death as in the days of her sinful life, but whose agony lies in 
the fear of not again seeing her Master. Yet her torment has 
not reached its climax. She is blinded. Only the faint hope is 
left that she may yet hear his voice and touch his garment. For 
art's sake, she has certainly suffered enough. The Master 
appears at the last moment, bringing with him the greatest 
happiness that poor, bruised Izeyl has ever experienced. To 
her soul, standing, as it were, at the threshold of its flight, he 
tells the story of his love for her. He recalls the scene under 
the old tree, and confesses to the struggle with himself and 
against her loveliness. He touches the heart of the woman, the 
longing, human being. More, he enraptures the heaven bound 
soul by telling to it the story of eternal love, far outlasting bodily 
existence. Never died a woman happier than Izeyl, in the 
superb ending of a human drama in the fashioning of which the 
hand of a god can be seen. 

The disguised episode in the life of Christ, which may be 
termed the love-dream of the Saviour, is strikingly revealed in the 
true characters of the play, when church bells burst forth at a 
time supposed to be six hundred years before the foundation of 
the Christian church which, even in our days, treats as blasphemy 
the dramatization of the character of Christ. 





Music. 



The greatest discord exists among our musicians. The 
proverbial jealousy of actors and artists is as only an echo com- 
pared with the musical dissonance. 

A mild rendition of their mutual criticism sounds about 
as follows : 

"A never was a great leader; but. now, either he or his 

baton is asleep during most of the concerts." 

"B is too big a man for our town. He knows it all." 

"H plays fairly well, but he is more cunning than a fox." 

"S is ambitiovis and ready to undertake more than his 

talents warrant." 

"R is a good musician, but no orchestra leader." 

"The compositions of S are soap-bubbles." 

The Fortnightly Club says: "We want a leader who is less 
of an artist and more of a gentleman." 



94 

This is shocking. All these gentlemen stand in the front 
rank of local musicians, while the views of the Fortnightly Club, 
as a rule, are lofty and artistic. Many men of great talent have 
left the city on account of the unpleasant relations existing 
among our nu:sicians. Is it to be wondered at that even Detroit 
is of more consequence in matters nuisical than Cleveland? The 
Musikanteyi alone seem to move in unison — rather in distinct 
herds, like buffaloes, 

* * * 

The Dutch pianist, Martin Sieveking, is a great linguist. 
He speaks six modern languages and plays magnificently besides. 
His technique is perfect, as he showed in the exhibition which 
he gave in November under the ausi)ices of the Fortnightly Club. 
It was a musical treat, though Sieveking can hardly be classed 
among the foremost pianists of the day. He lacks imagination. 
His pictures, seen in the shop windows, were great in artistic 
conception, of true Flemish style. 

H. * * 

Shall I sing the praise of Rosenthal, the pianist, in the tune 
of Bloomfield-Zeisler, Wolfsohn and Jaco])Sohn, Goldberg and 
Silberblatt, Bernstein and Veilchenduft? You ask too much of 
me, for he fell sick before he reached our cit}'. 

*** 

Madam Nordica was a revelation. In her the artist was 
complete as the musician. I find but one thing of which to 
complain — that we enjoy too seldom the visits of really great 
singers. For this exception we are indebted to Jean de Reszke. 

* 

The Singers' Club has improved rapidly during the last few 
years. Its concerts are the more enjoyable because the tenor 
voices are not noi.sy, as is often the case among our German 
singing societies. 



95 

PvSpecial notice is due to Max Heinrich, whose success at a 
recent concert was unprecedented, in that he awoke a Cleveland 
audience from its usual slumbrous attitude. Mr. Heinrich is an 
excellent interpreter of the Folk Lore, the lied of the Vaterland, 
the chanson of the French Montagnard, the Italian serenada. 

* * * 

Another concert of the Singers' Club was memorable for the 
non-appearance of the beautiful and rich Mrs. Sprague, whose 
artistic career had been shattered by the critical blockheads of 
Boston town. It was too bad, but in place of Mrs. Sprague we 
made the acquaintance of Mrs. Wyman, a lady gifted wilh a very 
pleasant voice. 

* * * 

The Cleveland Vocal Society's presentation of the "Earl- 
King's Daughter," by Niels W. Gade, was a very laudable under- 
taking. The libretto treats of a Danish legend, a weird story 
told in the green of the northern pine forest. The music is 
admirably adapted to the words, being in turn sweet, strong, 
nervy and unquiet, like the tale itself. Miss Mary Loui.se Clary 
sang the parts of Oluf's mother and the Ivul-King's daughter 
with artistic ta.ste and great warmth. Mr. Howard M. Yost was 
not less successful in his rendition of the part of Oluf. I still 
hear him sing: 

"Night, thou art silent ! The moon alone 
Keeps watch, and o'er the thicicet glistens— 

A bird now warbles with sweetest tone. 
But ill may o'ertake him who listens." 

There are two reasons why we have no longer a Philhar- 
monic Orchestra in Cleveland. In the first place, our rich people 
are too poor to subsidize such an organization; and in the 
second, our musical unions can not bear the sight of an artist 
musician who does not stoop to their journeymen's level. More 
need not be said. 



97 



Fine Arts 




^UR Art Society, our Art Club, our Art 
School, our Brush and Pallet Club, our 
Water Color Society — each and all de- 
serve more credit than is accorded them 
by disgruntled would-be critics and less 
flattery than is bestowed upon them by 
the newspapers. 

The art life of our city is, in the 
main, confined to these five associations. 
The great Art Society, which gave us two fine exhibitions in its 
day, fell asleep over two years ago, and did not wake even in the 
din of the Centennial celebration. An exhibition of statuary is 
now in order. If there be a scarcity of material, I beg to recom- 
mend the defunct nymph of Pelton Park, plaster casts of the re- 
liefs which adorn the interior of our Soldiers' and Sailors' monu- 
ment, and the broken casts of statuary hidden away in the base- 
ment of the Court House. There you have a beginning. 

I feel kindly toward the school of the Art Club and the Art 
School. Both institutions are doing as well as is possible for 
them to do in the absence of an art gallery. For the present, we 
have the millions, but not the gallery — the money but not the 
pictures. The trustees of these funds are gentlemen of great 
technical conscience, who found so many laws in their way that 
they have rolled themselves up, apparently, in a robe of tech- 
nicalities and therein sleep. This is a second case of somnia in 
our art life, and there may be others. Alas ! alik ! alek ! The 
good, public-spirited citizens who left us noble legacies for art 
purposes can not sleep more soundly beneath their tombstones 
than do the administrators of their trusts upon our rights. 



98 

There are many rich men in our city. There are also a few 
good painters. They never find each other. As a result the rich 
own bad pictures while the poor painters keep their good pro- 
ductions. Gentlemen like Charles F. Brush, W. J. White, Pro- 
fessor Olney and a few others who buy pictures might well afford 
to patronize painters such as Semon, Schubert or Gottwald, with- 
out risk of making a poor purchase. 

I venture the assertion that vSemon is second to no landscape 
painter in the country. A visit to his studio in the City Hall 
will satisf}' any sceptic. Few painters there are who have deeper 
insight to the beauties of nature; few as faithfully devoted to 
their art, and few who are able to portray an out-of-door evening 
with such correctness and poetic feeling. He reveals American 
nature in her versatile and beautiful aspect. Yet, this artist is 
too greatly hampered by financial straits to do justice to his 
genius. It is a shame. Gottwald's best time is employed in 
teaching pupils for the most part indifferent. Schubert's struggle 
is the same as Semon "s. Is it to be ever thus? 

EXHIBITIONS. 

Not a room suitable for the exhibition of paintings is to be 
found in Cleveland. Our painters are too poor to engage a hall, 
and no one else seems inclined to do so for them. Natt's art 
store is at their disposal, but Mr. Natt, himself, was obliged to 
give up a more spacious place to reduce expense. Where shal 
the artists and art lovers go? 

Circumstances made the Fall exhibition of the Brush and 
Pallet Club almost a failure. The best pictures were kept in the 
artists' studios. The works on exhibition could not be enjoj^ed — 
the light was too poor and could not be improved. It proved, 
perhaps, that M. F. DeKlyn and Adam Lehr, whose pictures 
hung in fair places, were capable of work creditable to them- 
selves, and that Miss Nina Waldeck overtaxed her talent in 
"Home Talent." The "Sunset on Lake Erie," by John Kava- 
naugh, "showed up well." Poor, dear John. 



99 

The third annual exhibition of the Water Color Society was 
a bit more successful, the hanging of water colors being less 
tedious than placing oil paintings. There was some good work 
there, and the reverse need not be mentioned. 

Ora Coltman's portrait of Henry H. Stephens is beautiful in 
its distribution of light and shadow. Her "Meadow of Golden 
Rod" is of splendid warmth. George C. Groll, whose brush is 
sometimes as sharp as a steel chisel, surprised us by the softness 
of his "Autumn Evening" and liis"Daysof Long Ago." His "Mid- 
winter" is less commendable, owing to the chisel treatment afore- 
mentioned. Anna P. Oviatt's work was fairly good. Otto Rute- 
nik was represented by a pretty "Autumn Sunset in the Woods." 

* * * 
The gem of the exhibition was O. V. Schubert's "On the 
Banks," his treatment of the water being splendid. A wonderful 
atmosphere permeates the picture. It represents a sailing smack 
in a foggy morning. The waters are stirred and of a bluish gray 
tone. You perceive that the sun is hidden somewhere above 
the mists. 

Caroline Williams is a finecolorist, while Carolyn T. Wit- 
tlesey rejoices in painting big, red poppies by the dozen. For 
what purpose? 

Iy.ate in 1896 L,ouis Ransom, an old American painter, ex- 
hibited in The Arcade a Christ of heroic size, calling his picture 
"Follow Me." His conception of the Friend of man, "whose 
right arm is raised while the left hand waves on His followers," 
is somewhat out of the ordinar5^ We see the Saviour as a man 
of great strength — with the muscles of a blacksmith, even. The 
spiritual is expressed in the pallor of the face, rather than in the 
features; an oddity by which the merit of the work is judged. 
Hence, it attracted little attention. 



L. tf C 



lOO 

The Cleveland Art Exhibition Society is a company which 
deals in paintings of every description. Its exhibitions are 
interesting and varied. They are a good study for the art 
student and a source of pleasure to the art amateur. Not all the 
exhibits are good, but most of them are worth seeing. 




lOI 



A Religious Page. 

THE MINISTER AND THE BICYCLE. 

A prominent East End clergyman says: "The wheel is born 
of God, and the churches are going to make it a great factor in 
the salvation of souls." — Leader. 

Which may be supplemented by the following lines : 

Heavenward the soul doth ride, 

On a Cleveland tire ; 
Angels wheeling by its side, 

Keep it from the mire. 
For the road is dark and steep. 

Souls are sometimes flighty, 
Oft' the mud is ankle-deep — 

Bless the Lord Almighty. 

.1, * ^v 

The splendid lectures of Rev. John Malcolm are sometimes 
battles between the thinker and the clergyman— in which the 
latter wins. 
THE LORD AND THE GOLDBUG DO PREVAIL. 
Bishop I. P. Newman said: "God is conducting this cam- 
paign. It is His campaign, and the result is as certain as all His 
works. God will have placed Major McKinley, the center of 
human honesty, at the center of the power of nations— the 
mountain-top of honesty." 

The good bishop was undoubtedly inspired. 




AI.E.S.SANDKO SALVINI. 



I03 



The Newspapers. 



iM.\ 








M asked to say a word concerning the 
newspapers of Cleveland. The task is 
a "ticklish" one, and commendable only 
in that it must be brief. I dare not 
speak the truth, and I do not wish to lie ; 
therefore I merely remark that our 
newspapers are "all right." They are 
all right even as is the man who has 
lost his left arm and leg. 
The Leader is "all right" as long as it refrains from political 
expression. On this subject it is monomaniac, and its mania is 
Republicanism, more intense than the Catholicism of the Pope of 
Rome. This is not my own idea, but the opinion of many strong 
Republicans. It is "all right" in advocating the eight-hour work 
day, but it exacts from its own scribes daily work of twelve to 
eighteen hours. 

The Plain Dealer is all right. Years ago it was a rather 
sickly sheet, but of late has waxed strong and is doing right well, 
even without taking the "gold cure." Thus far, it appears, silver 
is the handier metal upon which to build, in the judgment of 
the P. D. 

What's the matter with the editorial writer of the /'r<r'.y^.^ 
He is "all right." This, even though he be at present only the 
father of light-footed, pleasing and perfumed epigrams which flirt 
daily with the reading public. But he can do more, since he 
amuses the dearpubhc by permitting large "whoppers of canards" 
to fly up into the air from the news columns of the Press. 

The Recorder is making a good record as a progressive and 
aggressive newspaper, and it also is "all right." May it be true 



I04 

to its name, and never become a Miss Leader instead of a stead- 
fast recorder. 

The World, say the optimists, is all right. Be it so. I live 
not in its world, but from a distance I see flocks of "canards" fly 
past the fair horizon. 

The Waechtcr unci Anzeiger must be all right, for most of us 
can not read it. It has among its readers 17,000 registered voters 
of Cleveland who were born in Germany, and their children, to 
say nothing of the natives of Poland, Switzerland, Bohemia, Aus- 
tria, Holland, Sweden and Denmark. It cultivates the truth with 
greater assiduity than 'its English rivals, but that, of course, is 
the "German of it." German readers believe in their newspaper. 

A GERMAN EDITORIAL. 

"The occasional agitation against the study of German in 
our public schools forms one of those undercurrents of reaction 
which are always to be found in the progress of a nation. It 
may be traced to the sluggish elements which are carried along 
against their will, and are occasionally successful in staunching 
the mighty flow of intellectual development. They are the busy- 
bodies or retardation, the same narrow-minded patriots who 
clung to the 'English Idea' during our revolutionary times, while 
their neighbors were up in arms against tyranny and oppression. 
We find them as the self-elected critics of a Benjamin Franklin, 
a Washington Irving, as the enemies of a Thomas Paine. Again, 
we meet them at Hartford in 1814, offering prohibitory amend- 
ments to the Constitution, failing miserably and exposing them- 
selves to the ridicule of the nation. Twenty years later the same 
spirit of intolerance arose anew to oppose all thought and all 
utterance against slavery, already obnoxious to the more liberal- 
minded of the population of our vast land. It finally took a 
murderous aspect, the victim of which was the poor Rev. Elijah 
P. Lovejoy, of Alton, 111. 'He gave his breast to the bullets of a 
mob,' says Emerson in his essay on heroism, 'for the right of free 



I05 

speech and opinion, and died when it was better not to live.' 
For a time preceding the rebellion Daniel Webster fought the 
old fight with all his mighty eloquence, declaring himself opposed 
to all agitators, all narrow and local contests. In the 'Know- 
Nothing' party, which begot in spirit the American Protective 
Association of this day, we discover once more the old foe to a 
broad, intellectual development upon a basis of noble human 
brotherhood.! 

"In these closing years of the nineteenth century, we find 
the world progressing toward cosmopolitan intercourse. The 
sciences and the arts are breaking all barriers. We preach uni- 
versal peace and sneer at the Chinese Wall. Congresses of 
religion seek to abolish sectarianism. Workingmen of the old 
world send their greetings to the workingmen of the new. 
Capital, united, embraces the world, and the sun shines for all. 

"In the midst of all this turmoil, humming and buzzing, 
stands the little band of reactionists, seeking to stay the move- 
ment of the surging sea of on-driven humanity. Folly ! Their 
defeat is inevitable. The position of the English press of our 
city is no credit to its progressive character." 







io6 




Feuilleton. 



CLASSICAL COURTSHIPS. 



HOW TIIIC OLD ROMANS MADE 
LOVE IN THEIR TIMES. 



LMOvST in every art store in the 
United States, prints of Paul Thii- 
mann's "Spring of Love" may be 
It is a masterpiece of the fine arts, 
setting forth the elegant simplicity of the 
Roman people in the time of Rome's 
splendor and prosperity. It depicts two fig- 
ures, one of a man and the other of a woman, 
walking over a clearing in a grove. He is 
seen in the act of slightly stooping forward to inhale the odor of 
a fragrant rose extended to him by the graceful bend of a beauti- 
ful hand. Of what do they speak? 

"Let me drink the scent, and let me drink the soul; 
Give me the rose, with a free and favoring hand," 

answers the poet. Yet, love making in itself, as practiced by the 
Romans, differs little from that adhered to by our youth. At the 
circus the Roman lover .sought by all means to obtain a .seat near 
the object of his adoration. The news of the day — even weather 
talk — served him as a topic of conversation. When the races 
began lie took care to learn which hero was favorite of the young 
lady. Such, of course, was his choice also, and her applause was 
echoed by his own. Then a terrible dust arose in the arena and 
settled over the audience. The lady's rainment was covered with 
it. "Pardon, doniina," the lover would sa>-, as he .set him.self to 
dust lier garments with his fingers. Ovid tells the young man to 
dust the toga of his mistress, e\'en if it be spotless. The lover 



loy 

must also be watchful lest his inamorata be molested -4)y persons 
in the rear seats. He perfomed the duty of fanning her with the 
gravity of a college professor, and with much devotion placed the 
footstools beneath her little feet. These, b}^ the wa}-, were not 
less admired in the olden time than nowadays. As the circus 
season continued for a considerable time, the young people 
would within its length become well acquainted. Upon their 
meeting in the street afterward, she answered his greeting with a 
friendly smile. Chance favoring him, he would occasionally find 
an opportunity to walk beside her litter, to the great annoyance 
of the chairmen. These fellows, to rid themselves of the in- 
truder, would fall into a trot and thus compel the lover to 
"sprint" until out of breath. It was the Roman lover's habit, 
too, to praise his sweetheart's charms in verse, but thus far in his 
course he would not have taken a decisive step toward declaring 
himself. 

The bathing season is drawing near. " Will she go to 
Alsinns, Tiber or Bajae?" he asks himself a hundred times. She 
goes to Bajae, the Saratoga of the Roman Empire. He immedi- 
ately sets out by a different road and arrives at the watering- 
place a day before his Lydia or Sephinia. To their mutual 
surprise the}^ meet at the promenade, and are not a little cha- 
grined at their unexpected good luck. An easier and more 
intimate relation springs up between the young people, and 
generally culminates in a charming avowal of her affection for 
him. It is the same old story, whether a lover says "amo te" or 
"I love you," or whether he gives her a kiss or a basia. 

The Roman lover was always a beardless fellow. Were he 
unable to fascinate the ladies by the twist of his mustachios, he 
might charm them by his versatility. Quarrels were frequent, as 
the ladies were generally of a very jealous disposition. Lydia 
would refuse to be kissed. "Deliciae meae," he pleaded. If his 
pleadings proved vain, he would leave her in anger and dejection, 
perhaps calling to mind the old song of Horace: "Douce gratus 



io8 

eram tibi" (When j-ou were loving me). Their love-spats, how- 
ever, were short lived, especially during the ice-cream season. 
I^he Roman maiden knew as well how to spell ice-cream as her 
prototype of to-day. Birthday presents were much in vogue in 
those days, and many a fine fellow ruined himself through his 
endeavor to supply his lady love with extravagant gifts, while his 
Dulcinia wished for a birthday every daj- in the 3-ear. 

The classical poets and authors from whose works we gather 
all this, do not speak favorably of the Roman girls. They com- 
plain especially of their artfulness and trickery. Young ladies 
scrupulously avoided creating any impression that they felt nat- 
ural wants. The Roman maiden was never hungry in the pres- 
ence of her lover ; she ceased eating long before her appetite was 
satisfied, and drank little. Hardly had he left, however, when 
she would order half a pig's head with the ear on and do full 
justice to that favorite Roman dish. 

It may be seen from the foregoing sketch that these long- 
forgotten Roman beauties might have given a "pointer" to the 
most accomplished belles of our days. 

CELESTIAL LIARS. 

Speaking of lies reminds me that a friend recently assured 
me that falsehood was not universally regarded as sin. Some of 
the ladies present were horrified, of course, uttering little shrieks 
of dismay at the assertion. They did not consider that their 
"petits maneuvres" were in themselves proof sufficient to estab- 
lishing the theor}' as a fact. 

"In Europe," said my friend, who has circumnavigated the 
world, "people generally expect the truth from everyone who is 
neither a politician, traveler or newspaper reporter. In America, 
lying is an accomplishment in conversation, and he can not be 
fashionable who is unable to tell his story." 

General protest ; further shrieks of dissent. 



I09 

"Are not our humorists all great liars?" continued the 
wicked fellow. "And what journalist can make a 'hit' by relat- 
ing nothing but bare, naked truth? In Asia nobody, not even 
the modest peasant, always speaks the truth. There, lying is an 
indication of culture and of education. In Africa the people are 
not sufficiently educated to lie for the sake of lying. They will 
tell the truth or lie, according to their advantage derived. The 
Australians resemble the Yankees in their habit of playing fast 
-and loose with the facts. Politically Australia is an English 
colony ; intellectually it is becoming more and more an instan- 
taneous photograph of the United States." 

"Who are the greatest liars ? " asked one of the party. 

"The Chinese." 

"The horrid things," exclaimed a young lady. 

"Congress does do well to shut them out of our coun- 
try," quietly observed an elderly lady. My traveled friend 
continued : 

"Lying has grown to be a sort of religion in China, although 
it does not come from a surplus of imagination. Even the inhab- 
itants of Kreta, whose ingenuity in distorting the truth was 
famous in classical times could not have outdone an average 
Chinese liar. From a social and esthetic point ot view the celes- 
tial statement disdains to speak truth. Any ordinary mortal can 
do that. To lie is for him %, mark of distinction. A Chinese 
chancellor dare not speak the truth unless he has been recognized 
as a genius. Then it becomes easy for him to be a politician, as 
from the beginning of his career no one believes a word of his. 
Should a Chinese politician be forced to speak the truth, he will 
do it with great care, and in a very parsimonious way." 

"The common people, who are not politicians, are under no 
such obligations to lie," ventured one of the party. 

"Everyone there lies, because they can't help themselves. 
If the durzi of the hindoos, (a tailor who works in the house of 
liis patrons) wants a holiday, he asks leave of absence on account 



no 

of the death of his mother, although she may have died a dozen 
times within the year for the same purpose. He would consider 
it impolite to ask the favor for a lesser reason and insolent to 
speak the truth. Further, he has good ground for his lamenta- 
tions, which are calculated to touch the heart of his mem-sahib, or 
master. Most of the lying, however, is done to please. Not for 
the world would an Indian tell you a disagreeable thing. His 
answer is always calculated to please. One day our party turned 
homeward after a hunting trip. Everyone was tired to death. 
We asked a 'riot' (peasant) the distance to the next village. 
The man, noticing our weariness and guessing that we wished to 
be near our destination, answered politely : 'You are quite near 
to it. It is hardly half a kos (rodj from here.' On we marched 
for four, five miles, and still nothing of the village was to be seen. 
We cursed the polite Hindoo, and agreed that the missions had 
accomplished little in those regions." 

"A Chinese is ever ready to give the most minute informa- 
tion concerning matters of which he is entirely ignorant. He 
beats an American critic, even in that line. As a rule he does 
not dislike white people until he learns to know them well. He 
regards us as creatures with a sickly mania for making a fuss 
over every little thing and wonders at our curiositj^ We are 
monkeys to him, and therefore he treats us with patronizing con- 
tempt. He dislikes our restlessness (it sometimes stirs him up 
a bit), for the greatest of sins in China is to interfere with anoth- 
er's comfort. Added to that, an American is to him a man with 
very funny eyes which forever prevent his becoming a thing of 
beauty." 

"These eyes are not only cut horizontal!}^, but they lie deeply 
hidden in the head, and from the Chinese point of view, one 
never knows what they see or fail to see. He walks as if there 
were no joints in his bones, and as a rule he is red haired." 

"They must be color-blind," laughed the young lady who last 
spoke. 



"Maybe," rejoined the speaker; "but for all that they do not 
think us quite harmless, and they handle us with the same care 
that they do the truth." 

"Let us hear more of your adventures," said another. 

"Well, I hired a guide one day to show me through a town 
and explain the sights. The man knew the story of every mon- 
ument, to the smallest details. He gave me explanations with 
rapid versatility, but surprised me by inquiring the way from one 
point of interest to another of persons in the street. I discovered 
at length, to my astonishment, that my clever guide was as much 
a stranger in town as I." 

The little company laughed at the joke upon the traveler, 
who resumed : "Although these fellows lie, it will not do to be 
too strict with your Chinese servants. They are obedient as 
slaves, provided you insist upon obedience. An English lady 
whose acquaintance I made in China, had instructed her maid 
that she was always at home to visitors. One of the conse- 
quences of the information was that the girl led me into her mis- 
tress' room at a time when the lady was engaged in taking an 
afternoon bath. She had alwa3^s insisted upon strict obedience." 




The Kiss. 

THE LOVER. 

My burning kisses, lovely girl, 
Singe not thy childhood's innocence. 
Why .should the fragrant flower fear 
The hot rays of the Summer's day, 
When in the pale and silent night 
It drinks the cool and pearly dew ? 

THE LADY. 
But where, in all the fiery passion. 
Is cooling fountain for the heart ? 

THE LOVER. 
Seek in its purity to find it. 
True love in the chaste soul, O dearest. 
Springs forth, a blessed stream of light. 
Sent by the Soul of nature, God. 

THE LADY. 

Thou wouldst interpret then, my friend, 
That when thy lips are seeking mine 
Thou strivest for my soul, and I 
By offering the lips, give thee the .soul. 

THE LOVER. 
And, in this union of the souls, 
Lies all the sweetness of a kiss. 

THE LADY. 

Now do I understand the harmon>- 
Of thought and heart, when I with thee 
Walk by the murmuring, silver brook. 
And listen to the evening notes. 



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